En Route
by Embarr
Summary: Years after Voldemort's death, Harry and Luna's journey in search of mysterious objects lands them in the Hidden Countries. They must collect the lost pieces of a forgotten past while facing the world of ninjas. Things are going to be interesting...
1. Chapter 1

A/N: You want to know the funny thing? This story used to have a prologue. Don't you just love writing? It's like putting together a puzzle sometimes. Oh, and I planned on this chapter being probably half the size it is. Yeah, didn't happen.

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or Naruto. They belong to their creators and anyone who has legal claim. I get nothing from this except more sleep once I'm done with this plot bunny.

**En Route**

Chapter One – Alighting On a New Situation

"_All journeys have secret destinations of which the traveler is unaware." – Martin Buber_

"So, any idea where we are?"

"By the looks of it… no, not really." Harry watched with amusement as Luna merely nodded and calmly inspected their surroundings. She had a way about her that he'd never seen in anyone else. He could have told her that they were standing in the middle of a pit of vipers, and Luna would have merely asked him if he wanted to do the honors or her. That was partly why he'd asked her to join him on his… unconventional journey.

_You really want me to come with you?_

_Of course. Who else would I take on a wild goose chase through potentially lethal worlds?_

_That's a very nice thing to say, Harry._

Besides that she was ruddy good with a wand and she knew _him_, though that little fact sometimes came back to bite him in the arse. Harry turned away from his brief thoughts to see Luna finish her survey of the area.

"Trees, grass, mountains in the distance, and," the cloaked blonde tilted her head to the side, her storm colored eyes unblinking as she listened carefully. "If I hear correctly there is a stream nearby in that direction."

Luna nodded her head towards a less dense area of forest to their left. Harry turned his head in the direction, listening carefully for the sound that his companion's ears had picked up in seconds. After a minute with no results he turned a thoughtful gaze on the woman.

"You're getting quite good at that," Harry said.

"Yes, I am." There wasn't even a hint of arrogance in the Ravenclaw's voice and the distracted look about her eyes told anyone that she was simply stating a fact. Luna stepped forward and Harry let her lead them through the trees. Five minutes in, he could finally hear the rushing of the water in the distance. Harry made a quick note to himself to work on his hearing while they were here. Luna had put a lot more effort into that than him, the gap in their ability was obvious now.

"Do we have a plan this time," Luna asked. She stopped for a moment and bent down to observe an unfamiliar plant growing through a rotting log. Harry felt for a pocket inside his own cloak and pulled out a small vial, knowing that his companion would want a sample to study later. She reached back and took it from his grasp without even looking.

"Nothing more than usual. Change clothes, observe, and then interact if the locals are friendly." Their cloaks were too heavy for the weather here. The last place they had been had snow thickly covering the ground, now the breeze that brushed by them was warm and bright sunshine broke through between branches filled with green leaves. Harry fingered the metal clasp at his chest but didn't take the cloak off yet. His clothes underneath the thick fabric were beginning to feel warm as well, but he simply cast a temporary cooling charm until they could reach the nearest water and rest. Luna was done with collecting samples by now and turned back towards their destination.

"I hope they are friendly here. The last two places we've been were rather lonely."

"Yes, well, that tends to happen when you encounter a self-destructing civilization and another on the brink of a second ice age."

"And no signs of any artifacts either."

"No, unfortunately not."

"We have the worst sort of luck, don't you think?"

"Yes, but I try not to dwell on it."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

A few hours travel from the stream, brought the two to what looked like a large village or city. They had changed their clothes into something more fitting the climate of this place once they'd reached the stream. Both still wore identical cloaks, but they were lighter and parted to let in the comfortable breeze. Underneath each had made adjustments to their outfits. Luna had changed into a simple blue tunic with loose, dark leggings down to the knees. A thick leather belt was wrapped loosely around her midsection. Hanging from it was some of her equipment in a small pouch and a few handmade trinkets she insisted were protective charms.

Harry had opted for basic dark pants, arm guards, and a loose white shirt with a black vest made of a light material. It seemed that this world was one used to visible weaponry so each had a short sword at their waist. Harry had hidden a few other protective items within the compartments along one side of his vest and Luna had a dagger strapped to her thigh. Their wands were still hidden by glamour charms, tucked in holsters on their forearms for easy access. The outfits didn't look quite local, having been pieced together with what they had collected from their travels, but they were close enough to not draw unwanted attention. With the light packs slung over their shoulders they each looked like typical travelers, which in a way was true if it weren't for their unconventional means of travel.

They were entering the Land of Tea, they soon discovered. The main street led them into a shopping district, where several of the locals stood talking to each other or went about their daily business. There was a weight in the air, even as everyone tried to keep a cheerful disposition. Harry glanced at Luna, who had slipped into a thoughtful expression upon observing the natives.

"Something's off here. I wonder what."

"Most likely authority issues," Harry said. "Did you notice that symbol as we entered? I've counted at least twenty more depictions of it since then. At store entrances, on clothes, banners… They're all located in areas or on persons of better wealth from the looks of it."

"Greedy authority figures then. This certainly can't be good." Harry nodded, discretely eyeing a bruiser of a man with the same symbol on his back as he passed by.

"Very likely. I think avoiding trouble with them would be in our best interest."

"We'll see," Luna replied. Harry mentally groaned at her words. He hated to be reminded of his habit of getting involved. Luna wasn't one to give him an outright warning, but that only seemed to drive the message harder into his brain. It was one of her qualities he had to admire as much as he hated it. The two made their way to the end of the street, set on finding a place to stay for the night. As they moved to turn the corner they heard shouting from the street behind them.

"Heh, Hokages are nothing!"

"Boss Jirochou's the one who's not great!"

"You idiot! Boss Jirochou is a great man!"

"The Hokage is a very, very great ninja who places his life on the line for the village!" Their eyes landed on the two young men they must have passed by at some point, which was surprising with the vibrant orange jumpsuit the shorter blonde haired one was wearing. It reminded Harry of a Chudley Cannons jumper with matching hat and gloves that Ron had insisted on wearing for an entire week before his favorite team competed for the League Cup. Hermione had come close to burning the thing while he was still wearing it.

"Ninja?"

"That sounds interesting, doesn't it," Luna asked. She was still watching the two boys who had moved from arguing to ignoring each other. They looked young enough to be Hogwarts students, and acted like some of them as well. It seemed like a typical dispute among teenagers, though Harry had no idea what a Hokage was. He had a general idea of ninjas, having grown up in the muggle world, but neither boy looked like the image he had in his head. Harry had to blink a few times when he noticed a girl pop her head out of one of the stores to stare anxiously down the street at the boys. He hadn't seen hair that shade of bubblegum pink since Tonks, and he had a feeling that it was natural unlike the metamorphmagus. She wore a headband in her hair that looked identical to the one on the orange clad boy's forehead. So they were together, Harry thought. He took note of the symbol on the metal plate to investigate later.

"I have a feeling we won't be bored here. Come on, I think I saw a sign for an inn down that way." Harry started towards their previous route before the interruption, not even glancing back to know that Luna would follow. They hadn't had that many pleasant, local accommodations for a while and he knew she was looking forward to a nice place as much as he was. There was enough distance between them and the shopping area that the two travelers didn't hear the crash or the sound of fists on flesh only moments after the first scene. The story of another ninja taking down members of the Wagarashi clan would soon reach their ears though, confirming their assumptions concerning issues with the local authorities.

Only minutes after the first conflict that the witch and wizard were still unaware of at this point occurred they encountered two men and a young woman near the entrance of the inn they planned to enter. The girl looked terrified as the men loomed over her on either side, each with an over delighted gaze set on her pretty features.

"How would you like to spend some time with members of the great Wagarashi clan, eh," one asked, leaning forward. The box of supplies in the young woman's arms was clutched more tightly to her front, as if it would protect her in some way, but this only managed to draw the man's eyes towards her chest. His grin widened, as did the one on his companion's face. They each laughed and the second man reached out a hand to grab the girl's arm. That was all it took for Harry's bad habit to kick in. He noticed in the split second it took him to come between the man and the girl a familiar emblem was sewn into his sleeve, but at that point he didn't really care.

"I think you're keeping this young woman from her work," said Harry coolly. The man blinked for a moment in surprise before sneering at him. He was at least a head taller than Harry, which would have intimidated most as the man loomed over him rather menacingly. When one of your first friends in the wizarding world happened to be a half-giant though, you learn to take in a different perspective concerning height. With a quick survey of the man it seemed that other than his height, brute strength and a sword that looked as if it had hardly ever been used at all, the man didn't have much going for him. It was obvious that he got most of what he wanted simply by throwing around the name of this Wagarashi clan.

"You look new to the area so I'll give you fair warning, kid. Wagarashi clan runs this place. Stay out of our business." Harry bristled at being called a kid. He didn't look that young, did he? Sure, he wasn't very tall but surely he didn't look like a "kid". Somewhere behind him he could hear a giggle from his companion. At some point she'd joined him, blocking the other man from the girl.

"Luna," he said in warning.

"Size doesn't matter, you know." She said it with the most sincere, matter of fact voice that if he hadn't known she was laughing on the inside he would have been just as confused as the two men and girl. Harry could see the tensed muscles in her shoulders as he glanced back, evidence of restrained laughter instead of an eagerness to fight.

"Thank you so much for that image. Now, if you don't mind…" He trailed off as he noticed a large fist coming at his head from the corner of his eye. By instinct, Harry ducked under the punch and pushed into the man's chest to throw him off balance. It wasn't a particularly elegant move, but affective as it kept the man from hitting the girl behind him, and instead sent him a few steps back. With a well placed stab to a pressure point before the man could recover, he was down. Harry frowned at the easiness of the fight and then turned to see how Luna was doing. The girl was staring at Luna with wide eyes as the slender blonde sat cross legged on top of the second man's slumped figure. She'd taken a bag of Bertie Botts Beans from her small level pouch and was idly sorting through some in her hand before offering one of the safer colors to the still stunned girl.

"I'm fairly certain this one is a tea flavor… or it could be caterpillar. I never could tell between those two." The girl took it without a word, still a little dazed by the quick and practically non-existent fight. She seemed to be coming around though as she paused with the jelly bean halfway to her mouth when Luna's words finally sunk in. Harry stooped to pick up the box the young woman had dropped and handed it to her. She came completely out of her stupor and began thanking them each with deep bows that nearly dropped the box out of her hands again.

It turned out that the girl worked at the inn that they were about to enter, and the innkeeper welcomed them happily after learning that they had helped the girl who also turned out to be her young niece. She seemed worried at first when she saw the two unconscious members of the Wagarashi clan in front of her inn, but Harry assured her that they would help prevent any repercussions from their actions against the clan that he had recently learned had claim over the area, which was called Degarashi Port. Again, the woman feared that his plan to eliminate the problem might mean a seedier situation than she wanted, but Harry quickly reassured her.

"We are not in the business of killing, Innkeeper-san. We're simply peaceful travelers."

"Yes, who happen upon trouble more often than not. It makes for some lovely stories at least," Luna said as she made her way back outside to the Wagarashi clan members. Harry would leave the job of altering their memories to the odd witch. They might wake thinking that they'd encountered a Crumple-Horned Snorkack or Gnargle infested mistletoe, but her skills with memory altering techniques were better than his own. It was another area of expertise, he admitted, he hadn't given much effort to in school or during their travels. It was one that he didn't mind being less talented in however, in order to focus on other areas.

After they were settled in their room and got to finally rest a little, they went downstairs where the old innkeeper thanked them. She immediately invited them to the race that would be in the morning tomorrow.

"Most of my rooms are booked for the Todoroki Shrine Race. Many people like to come to see the opening ceremony and then stay for the results of the race between the Wagarashi and Wasabi clans. I am praying that the Wasabi clans' racer has swift feet this year. It's been hard with the Wagarashi putting heavier taxes on us all."

"The race decides who has control over the Port then?"

"Yes, this year we all hope for the best, though it's difficult to say what will happen with the Wagarashi's dirty tricks."

Both interested in the story, they accompanied the innkeeper and her family the next morning to the port to watch the beginning of the race. A large crowd circled the two racers and two familiar figures stood near one of them as they prepared.

"Oh, so those are the Konoha ninjas Wasabi hired? I was expecting someone a little older," said the Innkeeper.

"Konoha," Luna questioned.

"You really are foreign to here. Konoha is one of the best hidden ninja villages. Wasabi-sama hired them to protect his racer. I heard one of them already had an encounter with some of the Wagarashi clan that didn't end well for the three men." Harry and Luna asked for more details on Konoha and the Innkeeper told them what she knew from rumors and travelers from the area. There had been an attack recently that upset their alliance with Sand, which they then had to ask for details on, and dealt their village a heavy blow. They were currently in the process of recovering under their new Hokage, the leader of the ninja village, which was a piece of information that interested the two the most.

While everyone else focused on the long ceremony before the signal for the race to start, Harry and Luna watched the three ninja with interest. There were the two they had seen before and one with dark hair and a bored expression completed the small team.

"Konoha sounds interesting."

"Yeah, and if this team is any indication of what a ninja village has to offer, I don't think we'll be bored. I wonder if that girl's hair color is natural…" Harry trailed off as he looked at the only girl of the team.

"I suppose this means we're heading towards Konoha then," Luna said, pulling him out of his scrutiny from afar of the pink tresses. Harry nodded, putting his focus back on his companion.

"It sounds like a good plan right now. I just hope it doesn't backfire on us."

"Careful what you say, Harry. You might jinx us."

"We're known for getting ourselves into some tight spots. I'm just basing my worries on facts."

"We're just as easily known for getting ourselves out of them, if I remember correctly."

"If you say so," Harry said, giving her a small smile. "But we wouldn't be known for the latter if we weren't known so well for the first. Anyway, we should find an accurate map of this place, find out where we should be heading once the race is over."

"I'm glad we got here in time for such an event," Luna grinned as they heard the signal and saw the two racers take off with a speed that was rarely found in their own world. "Perhaps I should make us hats to wear at the end of the race to cheer on the Wasabi clan." Harry chuckled, offering his arm to the blonde as they followed the rest of the crowd to see the racers and ninja team hurry down the port. Everyone watched with interest, and shock for those who had seen the races many times before, as the Wasabi clan racer diverted from the usual route. Murmurings sprung up through the crowd and settled in the two separate clans on opposite sides of the spectators. The Wasabi clan looked disappointed and worried, while the man who seemed to be the leader stood strong and silent against the speculations.

"I hope he has a good plan. It'd be terrible to see that clan continue their control." They both watched as the Wagarashi clan moved towards the Wasabi clan, most likely to insult the other clan for their supposed weakness. The rest of the crowd slowly began to disperse, and the innkeeper urged them to hurry to one of the boats that would take them to the shrine where they would see the end of the race. Harry and Luna followed them through the small clumps of remaining family and friends chatting. The available ships and boats would be leaving soon as they had little time to get to the other island before the runners did, even with the rest they often took at the check point.

Harry paused when he felt a sensation come over him. It was like light flashing across his mind and trickling down his insides in liquid form. The feeling was both comfortable in its familiarity, as it resonated with a power within his core and disturbing since it often reminded him of the dark history behind it all. Luna pressed her hand worriedly into his arm where it rested, pulling him out of his daze. He searched the crowd, looking at each person and object carefully but he didn't feel anything again. It couldn't be simply left at that, though. He'd felt that before, and it always meant what he was looking for was close. Whatever it was, it had moved out of range almost as soon as he'd passed it.

"I hope that look doesn't mean we're cancelling our trip to Konoha," Luna said once she saw his attention was back on her. Harry shook his head.

"We'll still go," he said. "It just might take a little longer if I don't locate whatever it was soon. I'm guessing it wasn't active, otherwise I would have been able to feel it whether or not it was in range." Luna nodded in understanding. The energy wasn't something that could be easily hidden from Harry. The abilities that he had, one of them the reason they could travel to these new and different worlds, were the reason that the artifacts they'd found on their journeys were made in the first place.

"Come on, we'll miss the boat if we don't hurry." They resumed their steady pace to the last boat both a little more focused on their own minds than before.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Thank goodness the rain has stopped," the old innkeeper said. It seemed like the entire population of the city was huddled under the little shelter provided. Harry stood next to the old woman and her family while Luna was crouched down a little ways away working on something blocked by the crowd and her small frame. As the spectators inched out of the shelter to the area where the runners were expected to show soon, Harry went to her side and Luna finally stood up with a look of satisfaction in her eyes.

"I didn't have much to work with but I managed to make one for each of us." Luna raised her hands showing what she had been working on. In each hand she held a simple straw hat with the words "Go Wasabi Clan" on a banner hanging along the lip in front. Harry raised an eyebrow at the hats before taking the one offered to him.

"Where did you get those?"

"I transfigured some plants, Harry. It was rather simple really. You better put yours on now. I think I hear running in the distance." He probably had a while before the runner got close enough to see, but Harry obediently strapped the hat onto his head. The banner fell over his line of sight but a whispered charm made everything visible again. Harry smiled back at Luna who had placed her own hat on her head. He couldn't see the top half of her face, but by the smile on her lips and the very direct tilt of her head he could tell she had placed the same charm on her hat to see. Harry's smile fell only moments later as a more intense feeling of light flashing through his mind overwhelmed him. Luna frowned as she noticed the tensing of his shoulders.

"It's been activated," Harry said.

"You know the location?"

"Yes. I'll be back before the end of the race if this goes well." Luna nodded her head and watched as Harry moved towards the trees behind them and disappeared.

~*~*~*~*~

"I should have told you. The Sword of the Thunder God can cut through anything. It even cuts through chakra as if it were water."

"Run Naruto!" Naruto growled as he watched the enemy nin turn to Idate after his shout to escape. The needles in his legs were only mildly irritating compared to this ninja who turned his back on him like he wasn't a threat at all. Idate's words only made him more annoyed and the ever present urge to prove himself grew stronger.

"Hey, your fights with me remember," Naruto shouted. The green haired man didn't look like he would take the bait though as he went straight into a speech, making Naruto even more annoyed at his words.

"Only a weakling depends on others, trusting other people to give him the strength he hasn't got," he finally said. Naruto opened his mouth to protest when he heard an accented voice coming from the trees to his right.

"Why is it that the bad guy always gives a monologue in the middle of battle? It's almost as if they hope to talk their enemy to death." They all turned to watch as a man in a straw hat and dark cloak made his way out of the woods. Naruto blinked a few times at the banner concealing the man's eyes that read "Go Wasabi Clan" in bright green letters.

"Who are you," the enemy ninja asked. He sneered at the stranger who didn't seem threatened in any way, though it was hard to tell with half his face covered.

"I'm just here for the sword. I don't usually introduce myself in this sort of situation." The ninja bristled at these words, raising the sword angrily in his hand.

"A petty thief thinks he can take the Sword of the Thunder God from _me_? I am undefeatable with its power!" A sigh escaped the stranger's mouth, stirring the fabric hanging above it slightly. Naruto leaned forward, eager to catch a glimpse of the hidden face but it was still blocked by the banner.

"They always say that too," the man said, more to himself than anyone else. The enemy ninja seemed to have had enough of chatting and leapt towards the stranger, sword raised and eyes wide with anger. The cloaked man didn't move from his spot, even as Idate yelled for him to run and Naruto tried moving to intervene. The stranger calmly raised his right arm and looked as if he were simply going to grab the fiery blade in his bare hand. Before the insane gesture could be seen through with the ninja suddenly dodged, avoiding a cluster of kunai that flew at him. The stranger's concealed gaze turned to look at a spot behind Naruto.

"Naruto, Idate!" Naruto looked over his shoulder to see his two teammates posed to fight.

"Ah, Sakura-chan! You guys got here just in time." Sasuke glared at the ninja and then turned a wary eye to the stranger who now looked slightly curious, though it was difficult to tell with only the turn of his lips to go by.

"Naruto, who is this guy?"

"Your guess is as good as mine. He just showed up." The strange man raised his hands in front of him, still looking curious and unconcerned with the look Sasuke was giving him or the glare from the ninja to his right as he spoke.

"I just need the sword and then I'll be out of your hair, I assure you."

"Like you could handle the power of this sword!" The ninja darted towards the man again. The Konoha ninja all tensed, ready to defend but the stranger still looked apathetic to his enemy's wrath. Sasuke moved to fight the enemy nin off, but the distance between the two men was too short compared to how far he had to go. The stranger hadn't even dropped his arms when the ninja collided with him in a storm of dust and flashes of light.

Everyone's eyes widened and Sakura gasped as they made out the scene through the settling dust. The cloaked stranger seemed almost unaffected by the fierce attack, though his lips had pressed thin in seriousness. His demeanor was vacant of any previous emotions and replaced by a sober coldness. The only change in his stance was the position of his hands as they wrapped around the blade and hilt of the sword. His opponent stared, wide eyed and frozen as he continued to hold on to the remainder of the hilt in shock.

"H-How-"

"You don't know the limits of a weapon you rely so heavily on, both in how far it can take you and what it takes to defeat it. Even if you had the capacity for its power, you don't have the mind-set so I suggest you just _let go._" A scream escaped the ninja's lips as his hand was burnt by the hilt of the sword. He staggered back, clutching his injured hand with his other. The blade of light disappeared from the Thunder God's sword and the stranger calmly tucked it away within his cloak. He then took a step back towards the trees but stopped as the green haired ninja extended a shaking hand.

"How dare you take-"

"I have no more business with you," the stranger cut him off. Before anyone could move, he melted into the shadows of the woods and was gone.

A/N: You are all probably all wondering where I'm going with this, what's going on, yada yada yada. Yeah, I wish I knew too. Just kidding! Sort of… Anyway, as you may have noticed, I've started this story around episode 102 of the anime. This story doesn't exist in the manga. So, tell me what you think? Love it, hate it? Want me to dance on hot coals for making you read this story? Whatever your opinion I want to hear it. I'll have the next chapter up as soon as possible if the reviews are positive. Thanks for reading!


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Wow, at some point I really thought I wouldn't get to a second chapter. But, here it is and so close to the last one too. Thank you for the reviews and thank you for reading this. It's greatly appreciated. And yeah, I realize I've been vagueness girl with the last chapter… and the summary but that one was partly because of the word limit, I swear! Things should be cleared up with the second chapter. Sort of.

Disclaimer: Don't own anything, especially Harry Potter and Naruto. The only thing I own are the "Go Wasabi Clan" hats, and only in my mind unfortunately.

Chapter 2- Shipmates

"_It is known that there are an infinite number of worlds, simply because there is an infinite amount of space for them. However, not every one of them is inhabited. Therefore, there must be a finite number of inhabited worlds. Any finite number divided by infinity is as near to nothing as makes no odds, so the average population of all the planets in the Universe can be said to be zero. From this it follows that the population of the whole Universe is also zero, and that any people you may meet from time to time are merely the products of a deranged imagination." -The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy_

~*~*~*~

"He just came out of nowhere!"

"Did you see the banner on his hat? He must be a supporter of the Wasabi clan. That's a good thing at least."

"But he took the sword and he was obviously concealing his identity with that ridiculous hat. We should be careful if we run into him again."

"Team Seven!" The three genin stiffened at the deep, commanding voice behind them. Spinning around they were faced with the first chunin examiner, Ibiki Morino. He stood aside the ship that would take them back to Konoha that same day.

"Ibiki-sensei," they chorused nervously.

"What were you talking about?" Naruto was the first to step forward, hands swinging animatedly as he spoke.

"This mysterious guy came out of the woods while we were fighting this Aoi guy. He took the sword in his bare hands and then just disappeared!"

"Maybe he was a ghost," Sasuke muttered, crossing his arms tightly. Naruto shivered at the suggestion, turning on his teammate.

"D-don't say that! He wasn't a ghost!"

"Aoi?" Ibiki frowned at the name. His eyes narrowed at the mention of a sword as well and the strange man who took it. "Was it the Sword of the Thunder God?"

"Yes, Idate told us about what happened…" Sakura trailed off as the expression on Ibiki's face told her that he didn't want to hear what she was about to say. She rushed to move to a safer topic. "Aoi had the Second Hokage's sword in his possession. When we met him at the bridge it was the first time we had seen him use it and that's when the stranger appeared and took it from Aoi after he confronted him."

"They fought?" All three teens shook their heads.

"I wouldn't have called that a fight. The guy just _grabbed _the sword as Aoi tried to attack him. It was like he didn't even realize he was touching a blade of lightning with his bare hand." Ibiki looked mildly surprised though he hid it quickly behind a stoic mask. He had never heard of anything like this, even when the sword had been in the hands of the original owner. The forbidden scroll might have information that would shed light on the situation, but he knew that even with his ranking it wasn't his business to unseal it and find out. The Hokage would have to hear this news herself and decide what to do.

"You will report this personally to the Hokage when we return. Now, we should quickly board the ship and tend to your wounds."

"Che, the Dobe got lucky this time. He probably would have been a bloody mess if that guy hadn't taken away the sword."

"Yeah right, Sasuke-teme! You would have had a hundred times more injuries than me!" Sakura sighed, letting her head droop forward as she felt the hope for a calm trip back home wash away with the beginning of the first argument of many. At least they weren't terribly injured. Without the Sword of the Thunder God, Aoi had very little up his sleeve that their team hadn't already faced with him. The combined efforts of Sasuke and Naruto had taken him down and the man was so shaken without his secret weapon that he didn't put up much of a fight. Sakura had to admit that without the stranger, good or bad, they probably would have been worse off.

"Excuse me, is this ship going to Konoha?" Sakura was pulled out of her thoughts as she heard an airy, feminine voice behind her. She turned and had to stifle a gasp as she saw the person who had spoken. The thin, female physique and long blonde hair flowing over the woman's shoulder from a hair clasp were the only things keeping Sakura from shouting out immediately. The hat on the woman's head though, had her surprised. It was almost exactly like the one the mystery man had been wearing, down to the banner that concealed the wearer's face. The color of the words was in a vibrant blue but there was no mistaking that it was made by the same person who had made the other hat. The only question was whether or not this woman knew the man, or this was simply another hat of many.

"U-Uh, yes. Are you looking for transportation?" The woman nodded.

"My companion and I were hoping to go there. We heard so many interesting things about the place."

"Your… companion?"

"Yes, he's getting our things from the inn we were staying at. Tell me," she leaned uncomfortably close to Sakura's face and despite the cloth between them the young kinouchi felt nervous with the invasion of space. "Is your hair color natural? Harry was curious about it."

"Y-Yes. Is H-Harry the person you're travelling with?" Sakura took a step back, giving the strange woman a wary look as she asked the question.

"Ah, yes. I'm Luna Lovegood, by the way. I forget to introduce myself sometimes." Luna tilted her head and Sakura saw the misty smile on her lips widen as a sign of friendliness. Sakura stared wide-eyed at the strange blonde before shaking her head to clear it. It wasn't good to lose your footing so easily, especially if this woman happened to be a threat.

"I'm Sakura, a ninja of Konoha. May I ask," she hesitated and then pointed towards Luna's head. "Where did you get that hat?"

Luna's hand automatically went up to the brim of the straw hat and then she giggled quietly to herself. As she removed it Sakura finally saw the humor filled, silver-grey eyes of Luna Lovegood. The amusement soon faded back into a dreamy gaze, as if it had never been there at all.

"Forgive me, I'd forgotten I had it on. Do you like it? I made it myself." Sakura's eyes widened in surprise at the woman's words. She was about to ask Luna if she'd made another one when she heard a shout from Naruto.

"Ahh, Y-Your that guy!" Sakura and Luna turned to see Naruto pointing a shaky finger at a figure carrying two travel bags as it approached the docks. Their head tilted upwards and out of a thoughtful pose at the loud accusation. Sakura didn't hold back the gasp this time as she recognized the figure. Naruto continued pointing at the man as Sasuke took a defensive step down the dock. Ibiki turned immediately, hands ready to perform any seals as he noticed the man coming towards them.

"Who is this, Naruto," Ibiki asked.

"Harry!" All four Konoha ninja turned to the strange blonde as she waved the man, Harry, over to them. They tensed when he came within a few feet of them and stopped. It was the same man from the bridge, wearing the same cloak and hat that concealed most of his features then. He was silent for a moment as they all felt his unseen gaze take a quick survey of them all. A small smile then grew on his lips as he took another, precise step forward.

"I see you've made friends with the ninjas, Luna," Harry said.

"He's the strange, masked man!" Harry's head turned to Naruto, his smile turning into a confused frown.

"What?"

"You're still wearing your hat, Harry. Don't worry. I forgot about mine too," Luna said in a hushed voice that carried to all of them, as she swung her own hat softly in front of her. Harry made a noise deep in his throat as he moved to untie the hat from his head. The three genin found themselves holding their breath, leaning forward in anticipation. When the hat was removed, shaggy dark hair was revealed and vibrant green eyes looked sheepishly at each of them from a handsome face as he tucked the hat into his cloak. They all watched, bewildered as it seemed to vanish as soon as it entered the shadows cast by the fabric.

"Sorry about that."

"Ibiki-sensei, he's the one who took the Second Hokage's sword," Sakura said anxiously. Ibiki stepped towards the dark haired, younger man. His expression was immediately serious as he braced himself for anything that might happen.

"Is it true that you took the Sword of the Thunder God from an enemy ninja earlier today?" Harry's eyes turned guarded as he examined the man before him.

"And what are your intentions for this sword?"

"It was stolen three years ago from our village. We would like to see it returned safely to the Hokage's tower." The look in Ibiki's eyes told Harry that he was willing to fight for the return of the sword, but he really didn't want to go that far if it was unnecessary. Despite this potential threat, Harry shook his head.

"I'm afraid I can't just hand it over. It's something I've been searching for these past five years."

"Are you planning to use it for power then," Ibiki asked with barely guarded anger.

"Not in the way that you think, no," Harry answered, earning him confused looks. "Knowledge is power. I use what I learn just as effectively as you would a weapon."

Luna moved to his side and took up the explanation. Her hands were empty of her hat now, which seemed to have disappeared as effectively as Harry's.

"We're peaceful travelers in search of artifacts that might pose a threat due to a unique quality they hold. Harry's the only known person able to locate them or even have the means to search for them in the first place. It's very important that we keep this sword so that we can study it and learn its history."

"It's fortunate that it happens to come from your village. We were looking forward to visiting Konoha and it seems that now we have a valid reason beyond our own curiosity."

"Why is it that you're the only one, Harry-san?" Sakura stepped forward, curiosity widening her eyes. Harry almost laughed at the eagerness in her expression. It was surprising how the thirst for knowledge could banish someone's fears or worries. He'd known a handful of witches and wizards that reacted similarly to this pink haired girl. One of them was one of his best friends and the other stood beside him that very second.

"It's my heritage," Harry simply said in answer. He noticed a persistent pout forming on the girl's lips but didn't go further with his explanation. It was far more entertaining watching the brainy ones try puzzling things out anyway. Ibiki signaled to the curious girl as she was about to ask another question, causing her to obediently wait despite the eagerness still burning in her eyes. She turned to focus on the older ninja as he faced the two strange travelers.

"Despite your claims, I'm afraid I can't simply have you walk freely into Konoha. That sword is a very powerful weapon. The apparent ease in which you obtained it is enough to warrant caution." Harry seemed to consider his words before sighing and then giving a nod.

"I guess I should be used to this sort of welcome by now," he said. "Are you going to tie me up or can I hope there's a holding cell on that ship?"

"We have ones, yes. Your companion will have to stay in there as well. It's small, but should hold you two until we reach our destination."

"That's fine with me. We've been in tighter situations before, haven't we Harry" Luna said, looking at Harry as he knowingly nodded. The expression shared between them gave those observing the feeling that this was some sort of inside joke for the two. She then turned to smile at Ibiki as if he hadn't just told them they were practically being held captive. The Konoha ninja's were slightly disturbed by the reaction, and by the fact that both the man and woman before them openly admitted to being captive or worse enough to be "fine" with the situation Ibiki insisted on for their journey back to Konoha. They all had a feeling that they'd have to keep on their toes with these two.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"I can't believe it was that easy," Naruto said. He and his teammates circled a pile of discarded items at the bow of the ship. It was everything Harry and Luna had on their person, as far as they knew anyway, and the sight of it all astounded them. Each had willingly shed their cloaks and dumped everything they had on them before going below deck to the cells. Ibiki had carefully searched them, just in case they were hiding anything else, but he had come up with nothing more. They failed to notice that in each search he had faltered over their arm guards and then continued as if nothing occurred.

Along with their packs were an assortment of weapons, pouches, the straw hats, and the trinkets that had hung around the blonde woman's belt. On Harry's pile sat the Sword of the Thunder God, stored within a case which he'd warned them not to touch after placing it carefully atop everything else. Ibiki had not liked the idea of still having the sword out of Konoha's hands, but agreed to let it remain in the case and then be carefully monitored while in the hands of the strangers. Naruto's hand inched towards the case, only to be slapped away by Sakura. She scolded him, going as far as threatening him with an unnaturally powerful fist to drive in the point of her words.

"No, Naruto! Harry-san and Ibiki-sensei told us not to touch it!"

"I just wanted to see it," Naruto muttered, turning his gaze down sheepishly. His eyes widened with curiosity as he caught sight of something else in Luna's pile this time. "Ah? What's this?"

A colorful, plastic bag poked out from one of the pouches closest to them. Naruto reached out for this, and when Sakura didn't protest he slid it out of the opening and into his hand. It had unfamiliar, jagged writing on the front and the contents looked like a collection of candies in a number of colors. A wary sniff of the foreign contents had Naruto wrinkling his nose suspiciously at the mix of scents.

"This stuff smells odd," he said. "But it looks like candy."

Naruto dipped his hand into the opened top, coming up with a handful of different colored candies. He looked at them for a moment before smirking and holding his hand out to Sakura and Sasuke. They observed him and the bean shaped candies warily but Naruto persisted and pushed his hand further towards them.

"Don't you want to try one," he asked.

"W-What? No! Naruto, those don't belong to us!"

"Come on, just one. There's plenty more in here. Don't you want to know what they taste like?" Naruto shook the bag to emphasize his words. Sasuke made a noise deep in his thought as he looked challengingly at the blonde genin.

"Then you try it too, Dobe."

"Hmmf, fine," Naruto replied, looking satisfied and up to the challenge. He chose a light blue candy from the pile and then offered the rest to his teammates. Sasuke picked out a yellow colored one and after a second of hesitation Sakura chose a pink and red one. They each stared at one another before simultaneously popping the small candies into their mouths. Naruto's reaction was almost immediate as he spit the half chewed candy onto the deck of the ship and scraped at his tongue with disgust.

"Bleh, it tastes like soap!" Sakura watched him quizzically as she took her first bite into her own candy. The look on her face was not of disgust seconds later, but of surprise. She continued to chew and then swallow, much to her companion's shock.

"It tastes just like strawberries," she said, smiling. "What about yours, Sas-… Sasuke-kun?"

The brooding boy dashed for the side of the ship where he quickly spit out his own candy overboard. After the gagging stopped, Sasuke shakily turned away from the edge with a dark look of pure disgust on his face.

"What the heck was that," he said shakily. "It was… was horrible!"

His teammates watched him wide eyed. Sasuke rushed over to Naruto, grabbed the bag from his hands and swiftly hid it back inside the pouch before storming off. Sakura followed after him with a worried expression while Naruto silently started to laugh and made his way below deck.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Below the bow of the ship, Harry and Luna sat comfortably on the floor, with the bars connecting their cells between them. Harry's gaze was turned upwards as he idly dragged his hands along the metal, making 'shink' sounds with each movement. His hand paused and then he laughed.

"They've gotten into your bag of Bertie Bott's Beans."

"I was hoping they would. Did they like them?" Harry chuckled again.

"Hardly, the girl got lucky but the boys picked some bad ones. I think the brooder got a petrol flavored bean." Luna smiled softly and leaned her head onto the bars as Harry brought his gaze down to her.

"That's a terrible thing to call him, Harry. You were like that once you know." This drew an amused snort from the messy haired man.

"If I had been half as bad as him I think Hermione would have jinxed me for it. She did hit me a few times though." They both smiled, amused at the thought of their old friend getting worked up over the things they'd gotten into. Harry, for his half-formed plans and brashness, and Luna for her stories of things that didn't exist. The thought of her brought up memories of their other friends and they looked sadly at one another.

"It's a pity we haven't seen them in over a year now," Luna said, sounding sad even as her voice turned mistier. Harry sighed, his own sadness at the situation clouding his green eyes for a moment as he shook his head.

"I don't exactly have a hold on this ability yet. I've gotten better, sometimes it's as easy as reaching into a bucket and picking out our world to travel to but then sometimes… it's as if it doesn't even exist." Luna reached through the bars to lay a reassuring hand on his, squeezing gently to bring Harry out of his troubled thoughts.

"It's not your fault. The more we travel the more we learn. Pretty soon you'll be able to go back whenever you want." Harry sighed, but accepted the supportive words. The next moment her was smirking, mischief glinting in his eyes.

"And then we'll be off on another wild goose chase when things get boring for us?"

"Well of course," Luna replied seriously before smiling, laughing lightly. Harry joined in, feeling the tension begin to flow out of their conversation. When their laughter died down Luna turned earnestly towards Harry, leaning her face more towards the bars. "I wouldn't call it a wild goose chase though. There's nothing exciting about a wild goose chase."

"What should it be then? A crumple-horned snorkack chase?" Luna seemed to give serious thought to the joking question before giving a short nod of approval. Harry couldn't resist, seeing the brightness Luna's amusement put into her eyes, and ducked his head to give the blonde witch a soft kiss on the tip of her nose. She blinked a few times before her smile widened as he pulled away.

"Thank you, Harry." Harry smiled back.

"My pleasure."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Naruto managed to gather enough control to stop laughing once he was below deck, and a stern look from the guard kept any thoughts of mischief from rising to the front of his mind. No one kept him from entering the room where the "captives" were though, so he continued with curious eyes through the dimly lit room. When cell bars came into view Naruto watched as the man and woman whispered to each other, leaning their heads as close as the bars would allow towards each other. They looked completely comfortable, despite the lack of padding in the cell. Naruto felt as if he were interrupting something very private, by the occasional smile and deep frown.

He fidgeted nervously at the doorway until the urge to know what they were talking about had him looking for a place to hide close by. He crept around a few barrels, using all his ninja stealth abilities for this single moment of curiosity. Naruto managed to silently squeeze into a corner right beside the man's cell behind a box where he immediately became confused as he picked up on their conversation.

_What's a crumple-horned snorkack,_ Naruto wondered, confused as he tried to picture what sounded like some strange creature. When he saw the man kiss the woman on the nose, Naruto's eyes widened.

"OOOhhhh? That's interesting."

"Ninja-san." Naruto froze upon hearing the voice of the man calling out into the dim room. At first he hoped that one of the guards had entered and he was addressing them. Emerald eyes were looking directly at him though, banishing that hope. Naruto jolted upward, all agility and stealth gone as he cracked his head on a low beam and promptly fell over the box in front of him.

He saw stars for a few seconds and wisely chose to remain still until they disappeared. Cranking his head around to look guiltily towards the two figures behind bars he noticed the amused smiles on their faces. The blonde ninja sighed in relief, glad that they didn't seem annoyed or angry that he'd just tried to spy on them. His hand rose to rub the sore spot on his scalp but Naruto didn't move from his sprawled state on the floor. The man rose from his sitting spot and then crouched down at the front of his cell to gaze steadily at the fallen ninja.

"I don't think we've been formally introduced. I'm Harry Potter."

A/N: Whaaaaa? That kiss came out of of the blue and I guess it's here to stay. I wasn't planning on it, it was just one of those things you sort of stumble upon like a duck in the dark. Well, review please! Every review is like a little piece of sunshine in my soul... oh, wait, I think that's a song. Nevermind...


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Next chapter! Again, thank you for the reviews. I'm really surprised by how many are reading this and how many are keeping track of it. You guys are great! Well, enjoy!

**Leshana Rae**- thanks for expressing your confusion. I've been told before that I don't use the usual words or descriptions in my writing, but I guess I wasn't aware that it confused people. In the example you mentioned, I did actually mean "duck in the dark" (yes, I'm weird). I've never heard the expression "drank in the dark" before. Did you mean "drunk"? Could you perhaps give me an example from the text so that I can get a better idea of what you're referring to? Thanks for the review.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Harry Potter.

Chapter 3- Arrival

_We are an impossibility in an impossible universe_. – Ray Bradbury

~*~*~*~*~*~

"Harry…Potter?" The man smiled again and gestured to the blonde woman behind him.

"And this is my companion Luna Lovegood."

"Hello," the woman said, rising to her knees and looking through the bars at Naruto with a look of intrigue in her eyes. Naruto blushed deeply at the look and hurried back to his feet. He fidgeted, scratching his cheek as he spoke in a mumble to the two caged travelers.

"Ano, I'm Naruto Uzumaki… S-Sorry for eavesdropping."

"No need to worry about it," Harry said. He sat down where he crouched and motioned Naruto to do the same. Luna came to the front of her own cell and made herself comfortable. Naruto obediently sat, crossing his legs in front of him before focusing on the two in front of him nervously.

"Ano…" Naruto trailed off, unsure what to say next.

"Whatever it is you want to say, feel free to say it." The blonde ninja looked wide eyed at Luna, a little in disbelief at what she'd said. His eyes turned downwards and Naruto's voice turned into a mutter.

"It's probably a stupid question anyway."

"The only thing stupid about a question is not asking it, Naruto." The reassuring tone in Harry's voice surprised Naruto. As he looked up, the young ninja took a deep breathe to gather up enough courage to ask what had been on his mind.

"You're not a ninja, are you," he said.

"No," Harry answered, shaking his head. "Neither of us is."

"Then… what are you? I mean, what you did when you took the sword, I haven't seen anyone do that before."

"That's a very good question. Do you really want to know?" Naruto was once again taken aback by the two before him. He was half expecting them to simply tell him that it was a secret, or that it didn't concern him. The last thing he expected was for Harry to ask him such a question. It set him off guard for a moment and he rambled as his thoughts tried to collect themselves again.

"I know it's probably none of my business. People usually don't tell me things anyway," Naruto couldn't help but think back to all the years he'd gone without knowing what was inside of him, why people hated him so much. His eyes darkened and he didn't notice the wizard and witch exchanging looks at his sudden depressed state. They seemed to have decided something in that second and turned to the orange clad ninja with serious expressions.

"How long have you been a ninja, Naruto?"

"Eh? For a while I guess," Naruto said, looking confused by the question. "I graduated from the academy when I was about eleven. I'm thirteen now."

"They train you that young?" Harry looked surprised by the answer, though Naruto didn't understand exactly why.

"Yeah, if you're really good you can graduate when you're seven or eight. You have to be a genius to pull that off though." The look in the older man's eyes was thoughtful. He seemed to find this information a little troubling.

"Are you considered an adult in your society then?" Naruto nodded in answer, watching Harry's reaction carefully. His gaze turned distant and Naruto wondered what the man was thinking about. Whatever it was, it expressed itself on his face in a mix of emotions.

"That's a lot of responsibility to put on someone so young," Harry finally said.

"Oy, are you saying I can't handle it or something?" Naruto felt himself getting angry at the thought that this man he'd just met might turn out to be like so many others he'd come across over the years. They always told him he couldn't help them, couldn't even wish to defeat them. He was nothing but some snot nosed kid to a lot of people or worse, a monster. The look in Harry's eyes made all the feelings boiling up inside of him die down though. Those green eyes looked sad, but they held nothing in them that suggested he looked down on Naruto.

"I wouldn't say you can't handle it. I actually envy you a little."

"Really?" Naruto was taken aback once again by this man. Harry nodded, continuing with his explanation.

"Where we come from, seventeen is the age when you are considered an adult. We don't even begin training until we're around your age, especially those of us that lived separately from our society before they were invited to school."

"Eh, what sort of school is it?"

"Naruto!" The stern voice of Ibiki Morino caused the young ninja to jump. Quickly scrambling from his sitting position he stood stock still as the scarred man entered the dimly lit room. He carried a covered tray in one hand and a scroll in the other. The look on the older ninja's face was completely void of any lenience for the young ninja.

"Go find your teammates and inform them that we will be arriving in Konoha in the morning."

"Yes, Ibiki-sensei!" Naruto hurried towards the exit, only to be stopped a soft voice behind him.

"Naruto-kun." He turned to see Luna standing at the edge of her cell. He blushed at the smile she gave him and the familiar way she said his name. "Tell your friends that you're welcome to have more of my Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans if you'd like."

"U-Uh, okay," Naruto said. The look Ibiki was giving him hurried him out of the door after that. By the time his teammates came into sight Luna's words finally started to sink in and he stopped, suddenly confused.

"Bertie Bott's…Ehhh?" Naruto's eyes widened as he realized exactly what the strange woman had said. "How did she know?!"

~*~*~*~*~*~

"I've brought something for you to eat," Ibiki said as he stepped towards the doors of the cells with the tray and scroll. To the surprise of the cells' occupants, he set down the tray and proceeded to unlock each door and motioned them out. They calmly exited, thanking the older man as he motioned for them to sit. When the tray was uncovered and they were slowly making their way through the light meal, Ibiki spoke again.

"We sent notice to our leader, the Hokage. She has been informed of your request to study the sword and agreed to allow you a friendly entrance into the village."

"Has the Hokage agreed to my request?"

"That is to be discussed upon your arrival to the village. You have demonstrated that you have good intentions so far though, so she is allowing you a limited freedom. You will have an escort from here on out, but we will not contain you any longer if it is not necessary."

"Thank you. We both appreciate the trust your Hokage shows in us despite never meeting us."

"She is a reasonable woman," Ibiki answered. Honestly, Tsunade had also been curious upon receiving their message. The quick report of the situation had told her of the unusual circumstances surrounding the return of her great uncle's sword. It was not only in the hands of a foreigner, someone who didn't seem to even belong to any of the Hidden Countries, but also showed no signs of possessing the amount of chakra it should have taken to obtain such a weapon the way they did. She'd expressed in her return message to deal with the situation with caution, but not to do anything extreme if the strangers hadn't expressed hostility. They had enough enemies on their hands that another, especially a potentially powerful one, was the last thing their village needed.

Ibiki found himself agreeing with the decision only partly. If the man, Harry Potter, were powerful enough to take the activated Second Hokage's sword with ease, he could be a powerful threat. He hadn't even protested being held captive though, and hadn't made a single move that expressed violence towards them. It could simply be a display of honest peace, or the calm before the storm. Ibiki watched as the woman whispered something in Harry's ear. The younger man frowned and then turned to Ibiki.

"Can you tell us more about this sword? You said it belonged to a previous Hokage."

"Yes, the Second Hokage Tobirama Senju. It's called the Sword of the Thunder God. He was a master at wielding that sword. It wasn't his strongest element, but he had a skilled hold on its electrical abilities."

"How did the sword come into his possession? Am I right to assume that he wasn't the maker of this sword?" Ibiki shook his head.

"Nidaime-sama didn't have the skills to make such a weapon. There are stories that it came from the Thunder God himself, but those are only stories." Harry appeared to think through the information he'd received, nodding to himself as if it confirmed something for him. His eyes then came back into focus to look straight at the ninja across from him.

"Do you think the Hokage would know more on the matter, perhaps more about these stories?"

"You will have to ask her that when we reach Konoha," Ibiki said. He paused as one of the guards entered the room. They exchanged nods and then the scarred ninja rose from his seat. "I will be back later to escort you out of the ship. We will reach Konoha soon, so I suggest that you get some rest."

"Thank you, Ibiki-san." Ibiki nodded to each of them and then headed above deck.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

That morning brought them to the gates of Konoha. The wall around the village was large and spanned off in both directions for what looked like miles until it curved. It was hard to believe that this was a village. Harry and Luna watched the expressions of their escorts as they faced the entrance. The look in their eyes seemed to tell the two what they needed to know about the village.

"They look so happy. It's as if they haven't seen this place in years." Harry nodded in agreement, glancing over at Naruto who was practically bouncing as he walked through the gate. He almost laughed at the overly excited expression on the boy's face. His gaze turned forward where he could see more of the village as they walked further in. A crowd of villagers shopping could be seen a little in the distance and an expanse of the mountain straight ahead of them was carved to depict the faces of four men.

"Even if it was a few days, I'm not surprised they're so relieved to be home. It's a beautiful place."

"Ramen!" Harry and Luna turned at the shout from Naruto. He was practically drooling, eyes brightening as he pumped a fist into the air. His teammates were rolling their eyes, making it obvious that they'd gone through this many times before.

"Oy, Harry-san, Luna-san! I'll take you guys to the best place for ramen in Konoha, and since you're guests maybe you could pay-" Naruto was interrupted by a strong fist to the top of his head. The boy collapsed from the blow while an angry Sakura hovered over him.

"It's the other way around, Baka!"

"Team Seven, if there are no serious injuries to be tended to I suggest you report to the Hokage's tower to deliver your reports. You can all relax afterwards. I suggest you hurry," Ibiki said firmly. His voice stirred the three genin to attention and then they were hurrying down the quickest path to the Hokage's tower. Naruto took a second to wave goodbye to them and then he was off running with the others. Sasuke scowled at the energy from his teammate and pushed forward, passing both his teammates and going ahead. He ignored any shouts from the two behind him and quickly leapt onto the nearest roof to continue towards the tower in the distance.

Harry and Luna watched with interest at the super-human feat, taking note of the lack of reaction from the villagers whose heads they soared over. Apparently this was normal for the ninjas of this world. When they saw two approaching figures, Harry and Luna put aside their thoughts to focus on them. One was a dark haired woman in a black and white kimono. The other was a brown haired man with a senbon carefully clenched between his teeth. A small, pink pig wearing a vest followed closely behind the two. When they reached their group the woman bowed formally.

"I am Shizune, the Hokage's assistant. We will be escorting you to see Tsunade-sama."

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Harry said, bowing in answer. Luna did the same as they exchanged quick introductions. Then, they slowly made their way towards the largest tower in the village.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"I wish we could have eaten first. Ibiki-sensei's scary." Sakura gave Naruto a disapproving look but grudgingly agreed with his assessment of the frightening man. They were finally making their way out of the Hokage's tower after going through every detail of their mission, as well as what they could tell about their unusual guests.

"_Eh, they seem nice enough. Weird, but nice. I don't see why we have to keep them guarded all the time."_

"_That is not something for you to decide, Naruto-kun. You three are dismissed."_

Since they had exited the Hokage's office, Sasuke had stared pensively at Naruto. The blonde seemed oblivious for a while until an irritated frown pulled on his lips and he scrunched up his eyes suspiciously. He spun around to face his teammate like he was a battle opponent and raised his fist.

"What's with the staring?" Sasuke stared intensely for a few more seconds before turning his entire body away from Naruto. This drew a growl from the orange clad ninja. Sasuke merely snorted and turned his head towards his teammate.

"You seem to trust those strangers a lot, Naruto. Are you friends now or something?" Naruto was building up to start an argument when her heard the sarcasm, but quickly calmed down as he saw the seriousness in Sasuke's eyes. The anger drained from his face to be replaced by an expression of concentration and confusion as he tried to figure out what was going on with his teammate.

"They seem nice. You heard what I said to Granny Tsunade. Why are you getting worked up about it anyway?"

"That guy's powerful. You should try to be a little smarter about who you trust." Naruto growled again stepping towards Sasuke who looked indifferent to his teammate's anger.

"What did you say, Teme!"

"Dobe…" The blonde ninja finally snapped and jumped at his teammate. The Uchiha didn't react to the rough confrontation, simply looking blankly at the angry blue eyes inches away from his own face. Sakura stood hesitantly on the balls of her feet, wondering who would throw the first punch between the two. Naruto grabbed the collar of Sasuke's shirt, initiating the first contact. Sasuke slapped the hand aside and stepped back to put some space between them. He fixed Naruto with an intense look before smirking darkly and dismissing the blonde shinobi's anger.

"You're getting worked up over nothing again. Why don't you just go spend some time with the foreigners? You seem to get along with strange people anyway." The dark haired ninja didn't say anything more but Naruto got the feeling that he was laughing at him as he walked away, hands carelessly stuffed into his pockets as he maneuvered through bodies. When he disappeared from view, Naruto let out another frustrated growl before sighing and slumping over.

"I don't get him," Naruto mumbled. Sakura opened her mouth to say something but paused as Naruto turned his head suddenly at a noise. She recognized it after a second as the sound that Tsunade-sama's pig, Ton Ton, made and soon heard a collection of footsteps following the small scuffle of pig legs. Soon the footsteps were revealed to be Shizune, the ninja Genma and the visitors. Harry and Luna looked like children who had walked through a candy store. The expressions on their faces were of lingering fascination and excitement. As they caught sight of Naruto and Sakura, their eyes came back into focus as they smiled in greeting to the two.

"You two got here fast," Luna said.

Naruto shrugged dismally as he muttered, "We had some motivation."

Sakura nodded, silently agreeing. Harry and Luna each gave them sympathetic looks before turning their attention towards the two escorts off to the side. Shizune looked anxious to continue towards the Hokage's office and Genma looked as if he didn't want to be an escort for any longer than he had to. It was obvious that they were curious about the two foreigners though, especially Harry as he still had the Second Hokage's sword in his possession. Every movement Harry and Luna made was carefully watched, both to assure the security of the sword and to figure out what sort of people could take the powerful weapon so easily. They had created an image of two very powerful people before they'd met, which was why the reality of this odd woman and messy haired man confused them. The two shinobi watched in mild surprise as Harry leaned forward and placed a hand on top of Naruto's head only to dishevel the already wild hair in an affectionate manner.

"When we get out of this meeting with your Hokage would you mind taking us to that ramen place you were talking about, Naruto-kun?" The young ninja seemed surprised for a moment before a grin overtook his face.

"All right," He shouted, excited about both the company and the food. Harry's hand remained on Naruto's head as he bent further down to meet the young boy's eyes to make sure he was paying close attention.

"And then we'll continue our conversation from earlier, all right?" Naruto's eyes showed interest at those words and the boy calmed down from his previous exuberance to nod in a serious manner to the dark haired man. The seriousness was lost though as Harry's hand remained perched atop his head. Harry gave Naruto's hair one more tousle and then straightened. He and Luna bid the two genin farewell and they continued up to the Hokage's office.

"What did Harry-san mean by that, Naruto," Sakura asked, confused by what the man had said. Naruto didn't answer though as the same words that confused his teammate had his mind racing with possibilities. He left Sakura standing alone, unsure of what was going on as he hurried off to his apartment to drop off his things and then return to the Hokage Tower to wait for Harry and Luna.

Sakura stood in the same spot for a few minutes, feeling as if she'd missed something. Sasuke seemed upset that Naruto was so welcoming to Harry and Luna and Naruto was ignoring her because of something Harry wanted to talk to him about. She didn't even remember when Naruto had spoken to the two about anything other than Konoha as they left the ship. What had they talked about that had Naruto so eager to leave her so hastily? Sakura shook her head, trying to clear the questions and ideas running through her head. Since when had she been interested in anything that Naruto did anyway? She'd rather figure out why Sasuke was so upset, she thought. The young kunoichi balled her hand into a fist in front of her, showing determination in her expression. With a deciding nod she was off in the direction Sasuke had left, forgetting momentarily her confusion concerning Naruto.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

A/N: So far the words used to describe this story have been "interesting", "unusual" and even "extremely strange". A little part of me giggles insanely every time I read a review that says something like that. I'm not sure yet if that is a good thing or not. So, reviews are greatly appreciated, insane giggling or no insane giggling. Also, I'm saving the Hokage meeting for the next chapter. I'm busy with school stuff now so I'll try not to keep you waiting too long. The next chapter might be a little later than the other ones though since I have to finish some papers within the next week. K, luv ya lots everybody!


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Thank you for being so patient and supportive. This chapter took a while to finish. I've been busy and although I had most of this chapter already finished at the beginning of last week I wasn't able to submit it until now. To make it up to you, I tried to make this chapter as long as possible. Well, I hope you enjoy the chapter.

Warning: Spoilers for HP:7. If you haven't read this book, then I suggest you read it 'cause it's awesome. Oh, and it has a part in this chapter and basically the remainder of this plot.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Harry Potter.

Chapter 4- We Come In Peace

~*~*~*~*~*~

"I would like to skip formalities for the time being, Potter-san, Lovegood-san. I don't particularly care for them and right now I'd rather get straight to the matter if that is fine with you." Both Harry and Luna silently nodded. They stood before the Hokage's desk, flanked by their escorts as they examined the office as inconspicuously as possible. It was very bare, especially compared to many of the offices they'd been in before. Wizards often seemed like pack rats due to the immense amount of objects held within their offices. Often, this assumption was correct. A wizard's life expectancy, if he made it through the dangers of the magical world, was very long. That gave them plenty of years to collect things here and there and then develop enough attachment to the items to never wish them gone.

Harry looked at the sparse furnishing and decoration, getting a feel for who this leader was before him. He had seen similar offices in their years of journey, not many but the few that he did often would leave an impression on him. This was the office of a seasoned fighter, someone who placed more focus on the people of their village rather than surrounding themselves with unnecessary objects. The woman herself was steady, both in her stance and her gaze. Her expression held nothing but seriousness as she looked at them carefully. When she gestured for them to step forward, Harry and Luna swiftly obeyed.

"Genma, you are dismissed. I'd like you to stay, Shizune."

"Yes, Tsunade-sama," Shizune said as she moved to her usual spot beside the Hokage desk. Genma bowed respectfully before exiting the room. When the doors closed, Tsunade looked pointedly at the case by Harry's side.

"I have to thank you for taking the Sword of the Thunder God from that man, Aoi. My great uncle was an admirable man and to see one of his prized weapons in the hands of someone so contemptible was a disgrace to his memory." Harry's interest was piqued by Tsunade's words. He leaned eagerly forward, fixing the blonde leader with inquiring eyes.

"You were related to the Second Hokage?"

"Yes, and the First. He was my grandfather.

"Do you by chance know the story behind the sword then? How did it come into your uncle's possession?" Tsunade shook her head before giving a reply.

"I know very little concerning the history of that sword before Nidaime-sama wielded it. I only know that it was a gift from a man who travelled to this village soon after it was created. My great uncle never wished to speak of the encounter to anyone though."

"It was a gift then," Harry said with a tone of thoughtfulness. After a moment he stepped forward. Both the Hokage and Shizune watched in confusion as he held out the case. Luna merely looked on, seeming only mildly interested with what was occurring.

"I won't ask to keep this in my possession any longer then," He said, tilting his head down slightly as a sign of respect as Tsunade took the offered sword. When it was out of his hands, Harry straightened and then continued. "I only ask that you allow me to study the sword even if you must be present for me to do so. My time here is in you hands, Tsunade-sama."

"You're awfully polite for someone so young," Tsunade said. She half expected them to look surprised by the comment since by appearances she seemed only a few years their senior, but the two only showed amusement.

"We once had a professor with a look like yours. With a single glance she could silence a room of noisy children. We quickly learned that when her gaze looked like that there was no room for nonsense."

"Harry still gets nervous when she gives him that look," Luna chipped in, making Harry look uncomfortable at her words. "He got in trouble a lot in school, you see."

Tsunade couldn't help feel a little taken aback by the sudden change of the atmosphere at those words. It seemed like the formal, man of business she had been speaking with moments before was gone. Instead she had an awkward looking young man standing in front of her desk as if he didn't know what to do next. His companion's eyes clearly told her that the petite blonde was amused at Harry's current state. When Harry noticed Luna's amusement, his embarrassment turned to a mischievous smirk on his face.

"If I recall correctly, that gaze was sent in your direction just as much after your stint as the Quidditch commentator."

"That was quite enjoyable, while it lasted," Luna said, not looking like the reminder embarrassed her at all. Her reaction only managed to make Harry laugh softly before he turned back to Tsunade. His features returned to full seriousness, except for the humor that still lingered in his eyes.

"Will you accept my request, Tsunade-sama?" The Hokage examined the dark haired man before her a moment, moving her gaze to the woman standing behind him to begin her scrutiny once again. After moments of silence between them, Tsunade slowly gave a nod.

"I will accept it, but on one condition. You wish to study the sword in order to learn its history, and I wish to know the history of my two mysterious visitors." The Hokage could practically feel the worry rolling off her assistant as she gave her answer but she didn't look over at Shizune to see if the young woman's misgivings showed on her face. Instead, she leaned forward to steeple her hands in front of her as she gave the two in front of her a more serious gaze. Harry and Luna exchange looks, seeming to have an entire discussion with a glance. When they appeared to have come to a decision, they both faced Tsunade again.

"That sounds reasonable, though I hope you understand that we won't be able to tell you everything," Harry said.

"So long as it's what I need to hear, I'm willing to accept that." The Hokage gave them each a look, revealing her age through the very grandmotherly way in which she expressed her feelings on the matter. If there had been glasses perched on the tip of her nose and the scene had been late at night in a Hogwarts classroom, Harry and Luna would have started hoping she wasn't going to give them detention with Filch.

"Then we have an agreement."

"Thank you. Now if you don't mind," Tsunade let the sentence hang, though the two standing in front of her understood what was left unsaid to be her polite way of giving them a nudge towards starting. Luna leaned forward, making it obvious that she wished to start the explanation as eagerness radiated from her. What came out of her mouth though, wasn't anything the two Konoha women were expecting.

"It's quite simple really. We're wizards from a parallel universe."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Sasuke sat alone, hidden among the branches of a tree near the training grounds. After his short argument with Naruto he had gone straight there. He had considered at first training to let off some steam, but the emotions boiling in him were too distracting. He didn't know what was going on, why he was so upset that his idiot of a teammate was making friends with those strangers. Naruto always tended to make friends even in the toughest situations. It was like the boy was a magnet for people with weird backgrounds sometimes. It had simply annoyed him before, but now…Sasuke couldn't stand the thought of the hyper blonde finding friendship with what he viewed as a potential enemy, especially one that had showed so much power. Naruto was acting as if the man, Harry, had never grabbed an activated chakra sword with his bare hands. But, it was something Naruto did. He treated the Third Hokage as if he were his grandfather, called Tsunade-sama a granny and referred to Jiraiya-sama as Ero-sennin.

Then why did it bother him so much this time?

A word came to mind, but he didn't want to believe it was the reason for his mood. A voice in the back of his head that sounded like his silver-haired teacher, though, kept pestering him with words of wisdom and more things he didn't want to hear. Finally Sasuke growled, closing his eyes tight.

"I'm not jealous," he told himself, feeling as if it were a lie even as he said it. He was about to jump down from the tree to try and burn his emotions away with training, quite literally as he planned on using a lot of his families' fire jutsus, when he heard someone call his name.

"Sasuke? Sasuke-kun." In the training grounds Sakura stood, searching the area in search of him. Sasuke hesitated, not sure if he was willing to face a fan girl at that moment, but he finally sighed and pushed off from a branch. When he soared over the branches and easily landed a few feet away from Sakura, he set the girl with his usual, steady gaze.

"What is it?"

"S-Sasuke-kun, I came to see if you're all right," Sakura said, looking worried.

"I'm fine," Sasuke replied. He didn't have time for sympathy, he thought. Sakura would simply praise him for something he didn't deserve and then things would just turn out worse. He moved to leave, but what Sakura said next made him stop.

"I guess I'm just not getting anything today," Sakura said, mumbling pitifully. "I don't even understand what's going on with Naruto."

"What's going on with Naruto," Sasuke asked. The question surprised Sakura. She looked up to see Sasuke looking at her attentively and blushed for a moment before she shook her head and started into a quick babble.

"He's taking the foreigners to Ichiraku's after their meeting with Tsunade-sama. Harry-san said that they were going to continue their conversation, but I don't remember them talking about anything other than what Konoha was like. Naruto acted as if it was something more serious though and I can't figure out what it could be… Ah, Susuke-kun?" Sasuke was quickly walking towards the path into town. He stopped for a second as she called his name.

"I'm going to Ichiraku's," he said, and then he was walking again, this time faster.

"Oh… Wait, I'm coming too!" Sasuke didn't slow down though, and Sakura had to run to catch up with him. By the time she had reached his side, Sasuke finally pushed off the ground to jump onto a nearby tree to continue his way towards where the ramen stand was. Sakura did the same and the two members of Team Seven were soon speeding towards their destination.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Hokage-sama?" Tsunade stared thoughtfully at the two empty seats in front of her, not answering the anxious voice of her assistant. She had thought she would still be questioning the two foreigners, Harry Potter and Luna Lovegood, skeptical of their claims of magic and parallel worlds. When they each had made a chair appear out of thin air and then proceeded to sit in them as if they'd always been there, the blonde woman had to rethink her skepticism. The whole scene would have been quite comical if it weren't for the fact that she was facing two _wizards _from an entirely different world. Luna had produced an armchair that could only be described with the word "squishy" in mind. The colors were nearly offensive to the eyes and Tsunade could only stare in amazement as the small woman slowly sank into the cushions further than she'd thought possible for the piece of furniture. Harry seemed to have chosen something more conservative, producing a slightly overstuffed armchair made of a dark wood and a crimson red fabric. Luna had said something about a "Griffin-do pride" upon seeing his chair to which Harry merely replied with a smirk. Then they'd spent the next half hour going over the most bizarre story she'd ever heard. There was something about a war with a man that sounding eerily like Orochimaru, a quest to kill said man, and the final demise of the evil wizard. And that was only the beginning, apparently, according to Harry and Luna.

"The summer after the war we were summoned to hear the official will reading of our school's Headmaster and mentor, Albus Dumbledore…"

Tsunade's mind felt twisted in knots from all the new information it was trying to process. Things that she had first thought impossible, these two strangers were telling her were very possible. It was the reason they could be there in front of her in the first place. Harry and Luna had taken her reaction very smoothly; much like one would react to the actions of a dangerous mental patient. The thought of that made her angry, seeing as if anyone were crazy at that point it would be them. A part of her could feel the truth in their story though. She could tell that they weren't telling her all the truth, but then again they had said from the beginning that they couldn't tell her everything. She reluctantly found herself believing them; not entirely but Tsunade couldn't deny the fact that those two were different. Besides the display of magic, they simply acted in a way that had her instincts telling her one thing. They didn't quite fit in the world she knew. The Fifth Hokage heard her assistant call her name once more, finally moving her head and blinking away her thoughts.

"Tsunade-sama. Is it really okay that they be left on their own in the village?" Shizune looked worried, which was reasonable after the strange meeting they'd just been through. The blonde Hokage gave a nod that seemed to ebb the worry from her assistant's face a little.

"Assign a small squad of ANBU to keep an eye on them to be safe then," Tsunade said. After a moments thought she added, "And get someone to remove these chairs." The bright colored one was starting to get on her nerves and she couldn't be held accountable for her actions if it stayed there a minute longer than it had to.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Ichiraku's ramen is the best! You're really going to love it. Ramen is always good for after any mission and no one makes ramen like the Old Man," Naruto said as they grew closer to the small ramen stand. Harry and Luna walked behind the blonde boy, watching with unconcealed amusement on their faces as he seemed to grow more excited with every step.

When they had left their meeting with the Hokage it only took them a minute to spot Naruto returning to meet them. The young teen greeted them with an intense stare and promptly told them to follow him. He'd led the way as if they were going to an important ceremony up until the subject of ramen came up, and then he turned into the ball of energy that they were already growing familiar with once again. His ramblings were becoming faster as he listed all the different kinds of ramen and which ones were his favorites.

"Ah, here we are," Naruto said suddenly. He then grinned widely and hurried to sit on one of the empty stools. Harry and Luna quietly took the empty seats beside him.

"Oh, Naruto. You're back from your mission already," the old man behind the counter said when he turned to see the orange clad genin. Naruto nodded eagerly.

"Yeah. Hey, Old Man, I'll have a miso-pork ramen with an egg."

"Alright, coming right up," the ramen chef then noticed the two silent new comers by the short blonde. He looked a little surprised and curious at their foreign features. "Oh? Who are your friends, Naruto?"

"Eh?" Naruto's expression showed surprise, quickly turning to embarrassment as he waved his hands around as if he was attempting to swat away an invisible pest. "F-Friends? I don't know if you could go as far as that. We've just met so we're probably not at that point yet. Ah, not that I don't want to be friends with them right now…" Naruto scratched the side of his face, looking more turned around in his embarrassment as his speech finally slowed to a stop.

"It's okay if you want to be friends, Naruto-kun," Luna said, making the young shinobi blush even as he stared at her in surprise. "It's always nice to make friends. Don't you agree, Harry?"

"Completely." Their smiles were reassuring and Naruto couldn't help returning the kind expression, looking equally relieved as he was glad that they wanted to be his friends.

"Hey, Old Man. Make something real special for my friends, K? You guys don't mind it being a surprise, do you?" Harry and Luna shook their heads in answer.

"Alright, I'll do my best, but Naruto," the old man fixed the boy with a look, "Aren't you going to introduce me to your friends?"

"Ah, right," Naruto said quickly. "This is Harry Potter-san and Luna met on my last mission."

"Oh, unusual names," the ramen chef said, taking another look at his two new customers. "I guess that makes sense since you're not from around here, eh? Well, three bowls coming right up then!"

When all three had a steaming bowl of ramen placed in front of them, the ramen chef once again turned his attention to Naruto's new friends. They each looked extremely interested in the bowls in front of them, especially the blonde woman. Luna leaned over her bowl, inspecting its contents closely and taking in the delicious scent.

"I've never had ramen before," she said. "This is very exciting." A noise, like a small crash, sounded after she'd said this. They all looked over in Naruto's direction to find the young teen on the ground. Before they could ask him what had happened, Naruto was off the ground with an incredible speed and looking at Luna with a shocked expression.

"You've never had ramen?!" Luna shook her head and Naruto turned his head to look at Harry, as if to ask the same question.

"I've only had instant ramen I'm afraid," Harry said.

"I can't believe you've never had ramen before," Naruto continued, still looking troubled by the news.

"Ramen restaurants aren't exactly common where we come from. I'm really not surprised that Luna has never even had instant ramen. We did grow up in different societies until I was eleven," Harry said.

"Oh, I guess that makes sense," Naruto said, despite still feeling confused. He really couldn't imagine any place without ramen, even if it was just instant ramen. After a moment the blonde shook his head, grabbing his chopsticks.

"Well, you'll really, really like this ramen. Itadakimasu!" The two guests followed the example of their young friend, though with far less gusto and speed. They calmly tried a spoonful of the broth and, finding it to be good, grabbed their own chopsticks to begin their meal. They handled the thin utensils a little awkwardly, but managed to get through their meal successfully. The old ramen chef watched the two as they ate, still seemingly interested in them. Luna was concentrated on the chopsticks in her hand as if her life depended on them successfully lifting the noodles from her bowl into her mouth. Harry appeared more comfortable with the foreign utensils, or simply didn't mind as much as his companion, so when the older man cleared his throat he looked up from his ramen.

"Yes?"

"If you don't mind me asking," the ramen chef asked politely. "Where is it that you two come from?" The question actually drew Naruto's attention. He was working on one of the last noodles in his bowl, but stopped mid-slurp to watch attentively. The forgotten noodle dangled from his mouth, leaving drops of broth on his chin.

"Hogwarts," Harry said, causing the two Konoha natives to look at him oddly. Their expressions made the dark haired man laugh before he explained. "It's the name of the school we went to. It may not be the usual answer, but we like to think of it as the place we come from and return to." Naruto and the man nodded, understanding what he meant as they each thought of similar places in their lives. They were distracted from the moment though as Luna began to hum something, soon picking up the words of a song in a quiet tone.

"Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hoggy Warty Hogwarts, teach us something please. Whether we be old and bald, or young with scabby knees." She stopped suddenly, and they all watched as Luna took the clasp from her hair. She then proceeded to twist her hair up and stick her used chopsticks through the knot to hold it in place. Luna smiled, satisfied with the outcome of her hair and then turned to them all as if nothing had happened.

"My answer used to be Ottery St. Catchpole, where I lived with my father," she said. "The answer hasn't quite fit ever since the house was blown up though."

"Sorry about that," Harry said, mumbling the words. The exchange between these two travelers was almost frightening, simply because those who watched had no idea what was going on. It was like those moments where two people shared an inside joke, but it hardly ever ended and wasn't funny no matter how many times you tried to think about it. Naruto was lost again, not sure whether or not he should be amazed by these two or scared. He went through scenarios in his head that might explain how Harry could have blown up Luna's house. He couldn't think of any that ended with the blonde woman reacting as calmly as she was now to the memory and Harry's quiet apology. The blonde ninja opened his mouth to ask a question about the incident, but was interrupted by someone calling his name. He turned to see his two teammates standing at the opening of the ramen stand. Sasuke's face was frozen in its usual expression while Sakura looked like she was still trying to catch her breath.

"Oh, Sakura-chan, Sasuke. What are you guys doing here?"

"Can't we eat here without you dragging us to this place every time," Sasuke asked as he took a seat on the other side of Luna, leaving a stool empty between them. He looked expectantly back at his pink haired teammate and then at the empty stool. Sakura blushed and quickly took the seat. Naruto growled, both at Sasuke's words and how his teammates were almost acting as if they were on a date. By the dreamy expression on Sakura's face, she was thinking along the same lines.

The two shinobi ordered their bowls of ramen and then there was silence. Sasuke seemed to be ignoring everything around him and Sakura was staring at him with a confused expression on her face. When their bowls were placed in front of them the silence continued, only broken by the quiet slurping of the two as they ate their ramen.

"Would you like one," Luna asked. Sakura turned, surprised by the woman next to her as she held out a familiar plastic bag. The reaction from all of the young shinobi was immediate. Sasuke blanched, Naruto began waving his hands in front of him nervously and Sakura looked equally nervous though for different reasons.

"Uh, n-no thanks," Sakura said. The tense quiet atmosphere from before was broken. Luna looked suspiciously pleased with herself despite none of the young teens taking the offered Bertie Botts Beans. The blonde woman took a green colored bean from the bag, popped it into her mouth and then offered the bag to Harry. He took one of the offered candies as well, though he looked carefully at the jelly bean before eating it. Team seven watched, holding their breath as each chewed, then swallowed the candy. When neither of the foreigners showed any signs of disgust the three Konoha shinobi finally let out their breath in relief. This caught the attention of the two travelers and they looked amused at the three.

"Were you expecting something bad to happen," Harry asked. The three teens quickly went through a jumble of denials. Harry and Luna watched it all with silent amusement, not bothering to interrupt the rush of words. Naruto suddenly froze, mid-sentence looking as if he'd suddenly remembered something.

"Oh yeah," he said, lowering his hands and giving Harry and Luna a serious look. "I've been meaning to ask you something. How did you know that we'd tried those candies when we were on the ship?"

"Naruto," shouted Sakura, looking surprised by what Naruto had said. She didn't seem to realize exactly what he'd said to the two, though Sasuke was now listening intently to the conversation.

"It's just a matter of seeing things differently," Harry answered. "Or something like that." Harry looked suddenly distracted, as did Luna who had tucked away her back of jellybeans and grew still as Harry glanced around the area.

"What kind of answer it that," Naruto asked, looking annoyed and confused.

"Naruto, you shouldn't be so rude," Sakura said in a scolding tone.

"It's alright," Harry said. Sakura turned from Naruto to look at focus on Harry, feeling suddenly embarrassed for almost chewing out Naruto in front of the two strangers. Harry's eyes were focused on her now, his gaze no longer wandering around the ramen stand. The rich, green color of his eyes stunned her for a moment and the young girl nearly melted into a pile of fangirl goo right then. She managed to bring herself back to her senses though, shaking off the urge as she spoke to him.

"I'm sure my teammate has been asking you all sorts of questions since you got here. You might not mind now but he can be very rude so it can't really be excused-"

"Really, it's fine," Harry said, cutting her off. He seemed a little upset by the girl's words, as his gaze had turned a little hard. "I mean no offense, but you assume too much. Naruto isn't being rude. He has every right to be annoyed by my answer. It's completely understandable really."

"Eh, why," asked Naruto. "Did you mean for it to be confusing or something?"

"In a way, yes. It's just that your question required a very long explanation and that's not something I'm prepared to do here and now." Naruto seemed disappointed by Harry's answer, but prodded for more of an explanation.

"Why not," he asked.

"Because the walls have ears that shouldn't be listening," Luna said, smiling in a way that made it seem like she was simply conversing about the weather. Her words made the three genin suddenly wary though and they each discretely glanced around the area as if this would reveal every possible eavesdropper nearby. It was a useless action though, especially in a ninja village where there were skilled spies that could easily hide themselves from genin ranked ninjas. Knowing that though, made the three young Konoha shinobi even more aware of the higher ability levels of Harry and Luna. If Luna's words suggested what they thought, then they somehow were able to detect whoever was listening in on their conversation, if there was anyone. That or the two were simply that much more paranoid. Whichever it was, the three still felt uneasy.

"Well, I think we should find a place to stay," Harry said suddenly, jolting the three genin out of their thoughts. He stood up, reaching for his bag. Luna did the same. "We're going to be here for a while so we'd better find a nice place."

"Does that mean that Tsunade-sama is letting you study the sword," Sakura asked, curious.

"Yes," Harry answered. He pulled out something from his bag, which turned out to be a wallet. He opened it, pulling out more money than would cover his and Luna's meal. Sakura was about to ask more about his meeting with Tsunade, but noticed the amount of money in his hands.

"Ano, Harry-san, that's too much," Sakura said, thinking that he didn't understand their money system. Harry didn't hesitate to place the money on the table though as he waved off the girl's words.

"It's the right amount. We're treating you guys this time," he said. The three tried to protest but Harry silenced them with another wave of his hand. "You did let us accompany you here. Think of it as a thank you."

"Uh, thanks for the meal then," Sakura said, her two teammates expressing their thanks in a similar manner, though Sasuke looked like the words were dragged out of him. Harry and Luna seemed ready to leave, and Sakura was reminded again that they had said they were looking for a place to stay.

"Harry-san, Luna-san, are you going to stay at an inn?" she asked.

"Probably. Why? Is there something wrong?" Sakura shook her head, but still frowned.

"It's just that you said that you'd be staying here for a while and I wondered if maybe you should look for something like an apartment instead," she said.

"Oh," Naruto said. He pounded his fist into his palm as he suddenly realized something. "That's right, there are a few places open at my building. Hey, wouldn't that work, Harry-san, Luna-san?" The eagerness in Naruto's eyes was obvious as he waited for the two travelers to think over the idea. Sasuke looked disgusted by the look in his teammate's eyes but waited for Harry and Luna's answer, feeling as anxious to hear as Naruto did though for a different reason. After the few seconds it took for Harry and Luna to exchange looks, they finally got an answer.

"Alright," Harry said. Naruto cheered loudly, drawing the attention of everyone inside the ramen restaurant and passing by. He quickly grabbed Harry by the arm and pulled the taller man in the direction of his apartment. Harry barely had any time to grab the rest of his things, though he didn't seem to mind the younger boy's energy even as he had to hop awkwardly a few times to keep up. Luna followed after them, taking a moment to wave goodbye to Sakura and Sasuke who were watching the whole scene with wide eyes.

"Have a good time on your date," Luna said, jolting the two's eyes away from the retreating backs of Harry and Naruto. Sakura blushed, looking extremely happy at the words while Sasuke scowled and turned away from his teammate to avoid her happy expression. When Luna had left and Sakura had finally calmed down from her moment of joy, Sasuke hopped off of his stool.

"Ah, where are you going Sasuke-kun," Sakura asked, sounding a little disappointed.

"I have to go do something," he said, not caring to give her a good answer. The look that he sent back at her as she slid off her own stool froze Sakura in place though. His gaze obviously held no desire for her to accompany him, and despite the pink haired girl's wish to spend time with him she didn't move to join him. When Sasuke was out of sight the young kunoichi headed in the opposite direction, leaving the ramen restaurant finally empty of customers. From a roof next to the restaurant a figure wearing a raven mask emerged from the shadows, accompanied by another similarly dressed figure with a cat mask.

"We may have a problem," said the raven ANBU.

"They didn't actually detect us did they," asked the other. The raven ANBU shook their head, unsure of the situation.

"We should report this to Tsunade-sama either way. I'll continue to follow them and see what happens."

"I will go to the Hokage's Tower then. I'll return shortly," The cat ANBU bowed their head and then they were gone in a flash of black and white. The raven ANBU disappeared in a similar manner to follow Harry, Luna and Naruto.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

A/N: Thank you all for the nice reviews. Really, I'm not that clever or anything. Again, sorry for the long wait. I'd like to spend most of my time working on this but I can't. I'll try not to make you guys wait so long for the next chapter. Well, reviews please! They make me happy and are greatly appreciated.


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: I am so very – did I mention very? – sorry that it took so long with this update. I've had most of this chapter sitting dormant in my usb for a very long time. I've finally went – literally – rummaging for it, polished it up a little and now here it is! The next chapter, hopefully, will follow within the next week.

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Naruto and have not made, nor will I ever make any profit from them.

Chapter 5- I've Heard of Mood Rings But…

_"From this point forth, we shall be leaving the firm foundation of fact and journeying together through the murky marshes of memory into thickets of wildest guesswork."- Albus Dumbledore_

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"Here it is!" Naruto announce loudly as he pushed open a door. The wood creaked loudly and even as the young man puffed out his chest, the two adults behind him saw him wince at the sound. "It's not much but I'm sure-" He was suddenly cut off by a loud noise, like a dying screech, soon followed by the distinct sound of wood splintering. Naruto, Harry and Luna watched in a mix of surprise and amazement as the recently opened door ripped out its own hinges and fell heavily in front of them. The small dust storm that followed left them blind for a few minutes, coughing into their sleeves. When it finally settled enough to see, Naruto's shoulders were slumped and his eyes nearly spiraled with the dismay in them.

"Sorry, Harry-san, Luna-san."

"Oh, I think it will work fine," said Luna. Naruto's head popped up in surprise. Somehow the blonde woman had managed to get past him and into the room without him hearing a thing. That little detail didn't cross his mind for very long, however, as he finally got a good look at the room.

"Eh? Luna-san, are you sure?" he asked. Dust still covered most of the room but he could make out the mess even through the thick layers. The kitchen area was cluttered with boxes from previous tenants and Naruto was sure he saw a few crusted pans in the sink. The chaos from the kitchen melted into the living area's mess, which consisted mainly of collapsed furniture. There was graffiti on the walls and a suspicious black spot in the far corner. A few doors led to other areas in the apartment, all of which Naruto suspected looked just as bad if not worse than what was in front of them. Luna seemed excited by the room, even in its current condition, though. Naruto couldn't see any reason why.

"It definitely needs some work though, doesn't it?" Harry asked. He gently nudged Naruto forward and they both passed into the room. Naruto tilted his head back to give the man a questioning look. He got a smile and another nudge in return before Harry said anything. "It's not the best I've seen but it can be fixed up. Luna and I have gotten rather good at making places like this seem almost like home."

Luna had crossed the room to the kitchen sink where she tugged on the faucet only to find that it screeched with lack of use and didn't budge farther than a few centimeters. A thin stream of water trickled out for a second and then stopped. Naruto winced again. His spirits were sinking lower but Luna seemed unaffected. She was grinning widely, and her eyes gleamed.

"This is going to be fun. I've never fixed a sink before," Luna said. Naruto's face scrunched up in his familiar look of confusion. How was fixing a sink going to be fun? He heard his name being called from somewhere off to his right, halting the young shinobi's thoughts. He jumped, turning in that direction to see one of the doors open. Harry wasn't in sight so Naruto made his way towards it, assuming he'd find the man somewhere in there.

Naruto heard the warning snap of rotting wood on his third step and only had a second to think before it began to collapse. Fortunately, his ninja instincts kicked in and he managed to leap forward but the wood where he landed next was just as bad. The young blonde boy let out a noise that he would later deny ever making, as he forced himself forward again and again until he ended up sticking himself to the ceiling by his hands and feet. There, he let out a quick puff of air, relieved.

"That was amazing, Naruto." The young boy tilted his head back, looking down – or up, technically – at Luna as she moved towards him. He looked at the damage that had been dealt, all of which Luna was stepping around like a strange game of hopscotch. He could see up – or rather, directly down. He wasn't really sure which it should be. – her nose as she stopped directly below him. "You looked like you were dancing."

Harry's head popped out from the doorway Naruto had been attempting to reach, worry shadowing his features. He looked first at the damaged floor and then followed Luna's gaze to the ceiling.

"You alright, Naruto?"

"Y-Yeah," Naruto replied. He carefully aimed for the floor near Luna and jumped. The floor was stable there and he landed without any issues as the taller blonde smiled at him.

"I didn't know ninjas could do that. Is that a common ability?" Naruto nodded as he heard Harry move closer to where they stood.

"That was quite impressive," Harry said, which was all that Naruto needed to eagerly tell them about how he'd learned to do it. He ended the story by telling them how he'd recently learned how to walk and run on water, stating that fact with obvious pride. Harry and Luna actually looked impressed, which made the young shinobi's chest expand even more.

"You'll have to tell us more about the ways of the ninja soon," Harry said. "For now, I think we should see the landlord about renting this place."

"Uh, Harry-san?" Naruto looked pointedly at the floor that was doing a good impression of Swiss cheese. The older man seemed to understand the unsaid words and waved his hand as if that would dismiss the issue of the gaping holes in the apartment floor.

"Don't worry about that. We'll be able to fix it. Just, follow our lead so there isn't a repeat of your last performance." Naruto blushed, but followed Harry and Luna out of the apartment, matching them footstep for footstep so that he made it safely past the weak spots in the flooring. He probably should have wondered how they managed to know exactly where to step, but the young ninja was more concerned with how his new friends were going to live in the place. Sure, he really wanted them to live nearby and he'd been more than willing to lead them to his apartment building, but Naruto hadn't realized that the apartment had been so bad. But, Harry and Luna had seen what he'd seen – and more, considering Naruto had never actually managed to make it to the room Harry had been in – and they now looked pleased with it. Naruto shrugged, and took them to the next floor where the landlord lived.

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The landlord had been a little bewildered that Harry and Luna were so eager to sign a lease on such a rundown apartment. They had gone through with the paperwork though and had made their payments. The old landlord wasn't going to argue against an easy profit so he took their money and kept his mouth shut.

Naruto was going to follow them back to the apartment and help clean up but Harry stopped him. Luna continued without them, not even glancing back at the two paused figures. The young shinobi had the feeling that she knew exactly what was going on though. Naruto just looked at Harry, confused. He was finding himself more confused lately because of these two.

"Why don't you come with me, Naruto?"

"Eh, where are we going?"

"We'll need supplies, won't we?" Harry asked.

"Ah, right," Naruto said, pounding a fist into his palm. He looked down the hall again though, looking for Luna. "What about Luna-san?"

"She'll be fine on her own," Harry replied as he nudged the boy forward. "She's just going to fix up the apartment as much as she can before we get back. Come on."

An hour later Naruto was following behind Harry as they made their way back up to the apartment. Each was carrying a few bags filled with items Harry had picked from the stores they had gone to. Most of it was food and, Naruto was surprised, there was a very little amount of cleaning supplies or any sort of materials for repairs in their purchases. He was still gathering the courage to question Harry's purchases when they reached the right floor. When Naruto saw the door, it was his first sign that things were going to get more confusing.

"Eh?" He made the confused noise as he looked at the now fully intact front door. Not only was it attached properly to the frame, the wood looked new and painted in a deep blue with a bronze trimming. An metal eagle, frozen with its wings spread wide adorned the center of the door.

"Merlin, she's getting me back for that chair isn't she?" Harry said, groaning as he stared at the door. Naruto was going to ask him about the chair but he never got a chance to as Harry swung the door open in front of them.

"Harry, Naruto, you're back!" Luna called from somewhere within the apartment. Naruto wasn't paying attention though as he was still gaping at what he was seeing. The floor was completely repaired; it didn't even look like it had ever been damaged, and practically sparkled in light coming from new light fixtures on the ceiling. The kitchen was clean, well lit and the living area was separated from it by a room divider for some privacy. The colors inside the apartment were neutral. There wasn't any sign of the blue and bronze from the doorway but the theme of eagles continued throughout the apartment as well as a few lions thrown into the design.

Naruto and Harry assumed that Luna was somewhere in the living area or one of the rooms so they headed in that direction after setting the food in the kitchen. They heard a faint clink as they passed the dividers, bringing their attention to the corner of the room. There sat Luna, pouring a cup of tea as she sat on a brand new sofa. She wasn't alone though, much to Naruto's surprise and Harry's amusement.

Sasuke sat stiffly at the opposite end of the piece of furniture, as far as he possibly could be from Luna without winding up on the floor. He was holding a teacup, much like the one that Luna had just poured except it was a fluorescent pink rather than the white porcelain of the other. Luna took a sip from another cup she had set at her side, showing that this one was a bright shade of yellow.

"Eh, Sasuke?" Naruto said, looking at the boy in question. "What are you doing here?"

"He dropped by while you were shopping," Luna said, gesturing towards Sasuke with her free hand. Sasuke was in the middle of taking a steady sip of his tea and, much to Naruto's surprise, the teacup turned a deeper shade of pink, almost turning red. The dark haired boy scowled and set the cup roughly down, taking his hand away as if it were burnt.

"Luna," Harry said, giving the woman in question a look that was a mixture of amusement and exasperation.

"Yes?" She answered. Her eyes held what seemed like a challenge, though it was almost masked with her own enjoyment at the situation.

"Is our young guest aware of why his teacup is changing colors?" Sasuke was now eyeing the very teacup, looking as if he had no intention of picking it up even if his last shuriken was under it in a brutal battle. Naruto inched towards one of the two remaining teacups on the table that had been recently filled. The one that Luna had been pouring fresh tea into and another by its side were both still hot if the tendrils of steam curling up from them were any indication. Both were also still a normal shade of white. The blonde boy picked one up and brought it cautiously to his lips. When he took a slow drink he saw the color change instantly out of the corner of his eyes. When he brought it down, it was an odd shade of orange.

"Someone's curious," Luna said, drawing the attention from the cup to her. Both boys stared as if she'd told them milk was green.

"And a little wary as well," Harry said as he stepped forward to take the remaining cup. He took a seat in an armchair right beside Luna's side of the couch, gesturing for Naruto to take a seat on the sofa as he continued. "The color that your teacup acquires reveals what emotions you are feeling at the very moment you take a sip. It was a gift from an old professor. He enjoyed dinner parties and anything that could… liven' them up."

Harry took a slow sip from his own cup. Naruto and Sasuke watched with extreme confusion and curiosity as it didn't change color. Luna brought her own cup to her lips and it changed back to the original color as well. Harry and Luna seemed to exchange a knowing gaze while the two boys grew more curious. When Harry turned his attention back to them they were more than ready to hear more of an explanation.

"There is a catch to these, of course," Harry said. "They only read surface emotions which can be concealed or manipulated with some work, just like if one were to hide their real physical reactions from an enemy." He took a drink again and the color changed to a sunny yellow, much like Luna's had been before.

"It takes a little while to get the hang of it but it's rather fun once you know how to change the color at will," Luna said, demonstrating by taking a sip herself and having it change to purple. Naruto followed their lead and took another sip of his tea, watching as it turned to a brighter shade of orange. The boy grinned and did it again, this time seeing it turn a similar shade of yellow as Harry's. Beside the blonde boy, Sasuke had picked up his own. He stared at it long and hard before he took a slow sip from it, letting his face fall blank of expression as he did. When the color changed to a murky brown the boy nearly glared at the teacup.

"What's that color mean?" Naruto asked, looking at Sasuke's teacup.

"You were trying to clear away all your emotions, weren't you?" Harry asked Sasuke. The boy gave a short nod in answer. "You achieved the opposite with your technique. You brought more emotions to the surface and ended up with that color."

"How do I do it?" Sasuke asked. It was the first thing he'd said since they'd arrived, and probably the first thing since he'd arrived as well. Naruto was still trying to think of why Sasuke would be there. Nothing was coming to mind.

"You're good at concealing your emotions physically but you can't simply conceal emotions inside your head like hiding behind a stiff expression. The more you think about hiding them the more prominent they become." Harry said. He was watching the dark haired boy who was taking his words rather seriously. A frown came over the man's face, as if he didn't quite like what he was seeing.

"I have to stop concentrating?" Sasuke said with a tone of disbelief.

"The best way to get rid of something sometimes is to pretend that it doesn't exist." Luna said, earning another strange look from the boys. Harry smiled in response though, standing as he set down his tea.

"I think it's getting late," Harry said. "I'm sure you two haven't had much time to rest since you've gotten back."

"I guess so," Naruto mumbled, sounding disappointed.

"Will you have breakfast in the morning with us, Naruto-kun? Sasuke-kun?" Luna asked, causing Naruto to pause and Sasuke to tense further. A grin spread across Naruto's face though as he happily accepted the invitation. Sasuke gave a curt nod and quickly headed towards the exit, dragging Naruto with him. The blonde boy scowled at his rough handling but still managed to turn and give his two new friends a bright smile, waving as he disappeared past the corner. When the two left in the room heard the soft thud of a door they exchanged a knowing look. Harry settled down on the couch next to Luna, considerably closer than Sasuke had been. Of course, the young shinobi had practically been on the couch arm and he would have been if his pride hadn't kept him from doing so.

"That was… enlightening," Harry said.

"Did you see how pink and red Sasuke-kun's cup turned? I didn't know someone could be so angry and embarrassed at the same time." Luna said.

"And it seems that Naruto had some fun," Harry said, glancing at Naruto's teacup which was now slowly fading back to its original color. "What was Sasuke doing in our apartment, by the way?"

"I invited him in," Luna said. "He seemed lonely out on the side of the building."

"Spying?" Harry asked.

"He's very suspicious of us, I think," Luna said in reply.

"And I think we may have made it worse. He doesn't seem the type to rattle off questions but I have the feeling that he's going to spend the entire breakfast time observing us. Who knows, maybe the way we hold our forks will somehow confirm some suspicion that we're enemy spies."

"He can't be that bad, Harry," Luna said in a scolding tone, swatting at his arm. Harry snorted, showing an expression that held nostalgia and another undecipherable emotion that made Luna's playful smile fall a little.

"Do you remember how many times I thought I was sure of something and it turned out to be completely wrong?" Luna leaned over and placed a hand on top of Harry's tensed hand, squeezing it gently. She watched him until he seemed to relax a little from the comfort of her touch.

"You need to get some sleep before tomorrow," she said. The blonde witch drew her wand from the pocket of her skirt and with a quick flick the tea set vanished. She tucked away her wand again and gave Harry's shoulder a soft poke. "Come on."

The raven-haired man rose, pouting a little as if the prodding of his companion had hurt. When the look didn't seem to affect her, Harry finally let the events of the day wash over him. For the first time he looked exhausted and he had to hold back a yawn as he knew Luna would only poke him more until he reached the closest bed.

It was the one habit she seemed to have picked up from every other female in Harry's life, making sure he got his rest. He might have complained in the past but he knew she was only looking out for him, especially when they were doing what they did. Less sleep meant less focus and that led to mistakes. He couldn't afford mistakes for the past five years now, even more so than when he'd been fighting Voldemort.

"You've gotten pretty good at this mother hen-ning of yours," Harry said, smirking when he saw that his words managed to make Luna's eyes widen as she stared at him. She almost looked like a surprised, blonde owl.

"I hope you don't mean that," she said. "Mother hens are rather vicious creatures."

"Remind me never to call Hermione one to her face then," Harry replied, realizing she must have gotten her image of a mother hen from how Hermione reacted to Ron's stupid, sometimes dangerous, actions through the years.

A/N: I can't believe it took me so long to write this chapter. Again, I apologize. Tune in next week! And, reviews are quite welcome!


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: Hehe, did I say tune in next week? I totally meant TWO weeks. Yeah, definitely... I think it was wishful thinking, saying that I could get this out within a week. I had a bit of writer's block halfway through, and then my computer was having some issues. So, let's just say that the next chapter will be within 2-3 weeks, eh? Okay, enjoy!

Disclaimer: Don't own, don't sue.

**Chapter 6**

"The truth is rarely pure and never simple." – Oscar Wilde

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**Konoha Village, Harry and Luna's new apartment, the kitchen**

Harry and Luna probably knew what they were getting themselves into when they invited Sasuke and Naruto to breakfast. Probably. Well, at least they knew that they couldn't invite the two young men without finding themselves with an additional, pink haired guest for the morning. They had an extra setting out on the table by the time all three arrived at their door, and simply welcomed the group inside without any questions asked about Sakura's presence.

Naruto was a little disappointed to find that their cups for breakfast did not change color, though Sasuke looked visibly relieved – something he quickly attempted to hide, which drove him into another silent brood as it reminded him of Harry and Luna's words from that night about concealing emotions. Sakura on the other hand stared at Naruto, bewildered as he sipped at his cup again and again before realizing its' sky blue exterior wasn't going to change. She slapped his hand when he tried to reach for her own cup, and then turned a sweet smile to Harry and Luna while Naruto blew on his hand to calm the red mark left there.

"I hope I'm not intruding," Sakura said politely.

"You're more than welcome," Luna said. "The more the merrier."

The breakfast feast laid out before them on the table made all the young ninja's salivate. It wasn't a typical Hidden Country breakfast, but Team 7 recognized cooked eggs, meat and even pastries piled in front of them in very large portions. The amount probably could have fed twice as many people, but Naruto had no trouble trying to prove that wrong.

"Whaff ah ooh dooffin tooweh?"

"Naruto, don't talk with your mouth full," Sakura said. She would have hit him, but didn't want to risk her teammate choking or spraying them with chunks of food. Naruto quickly chewed and swallowed, repeating what he'd said.

"What are you guys doing today? Are you going to see Granny Tsunade?"

"She'll be there when I start my work with the sword," Harry answered.

"I don't want to be nosy, but, what are you hoping to find by studying the Second Hokage's sword?" Sakura asked.

"Answers mostly," Harry said. "Sometimes artifacts like the sword have been, for the most part, dormant for many years. Their original user may have passed away or it simply fell into the wrong hands. In this case, both happened."

"Ano, Harry-san, wasn't it working when that jerk had it?" Naruto asked.

"If it had been, I wouldn't have been able to take it so easily; maybe not at all."

"Is it that powerful?" Sasuke asked. It was the first time he'd said anything since arriving. Harry's brow raised and he was about to answer when Luna did that for him.

"It has the potential to be, but the potential isn't really its own." she said.

"I'm not sure I understand. Does this have to do with what you mentioned before, about your heritage, Harry-san?" Sakura asked. Harry nodded.

"The objects I'm looking for, including the sword, were all made by one very unique group of people."

"I don't get it," Naruto mumbled, scratching his jaw sheepishly.

"He's obviously talking about his ancestors, Dobe."

"Hm, jerk," Naruto grumbled, crossing his arms.

"Your family made the Sword of the Thunder God?" Sakura asked, wide eyed.

"No," Harry said, deflating Sakura's amazement. Naruto snickered and then stuck his tongue out at Sasuke who looked back at his teammate with annoyance.

"Then how—"

"How do I fit into all of this?" Harry finished for Sakura. The young kunoichi blushed, but nodded.

"Neh, Harry-san, tell us," Naruto said, leaning forward eagerly. A spark of humor shown in Harry's eyes as he mimicked the boy's posture, getting caught up in the energy and excitement rolling off of him. It reminded the raven haired wizard of the times he'd spent whispering about theories and secrets with Ron and Hermione, in the Great Hall and the Gryffindor Common Room.

"You really want to know?"

"Yes!" said three voices at the same time. Harry and Luna tried hard not to laugh at the united front before them. Since they'd met the three ninjas, they hadn't actually seen much team work; something of which they'd talked about that morning while making breakfast. They figured that though they were supposed to be a team, Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke were getting along about as well as Slytherin and Gryffindor students forced to raise flobberworms together. To see them now, all with uniform expressions and ignoring the fact that they'd all spoken at the same time, was amusing as well as a hint of hope that they might work out some day.

Harry and Luna exchanged looks, and then turned back at their guests who looked like they were now holding their breath. Harry drew in a breath and then halted, his shoulders tensing as he turned towards the direction of their apartment door. Luna was already looking in the same direction.

"Perhaps another time," Harry said, his tone a little distant. His words were quickly followed by a quick exhalation of air, and then groaning – mostly from Naruto.

"Waaah, you can't leave it like that!"

"Sorry, Naruto-kun," Luna said. She stood from the table, heading towards the front door. The three shinobi only had a moment to wonder what she was doing before Luna opened the door to reveal a figure behind it. Shizune stood there, fist raised to knock on the door that was now out of reach. Her eyebrows raised, but she didn't ask any questions. She didn't get the chance, anyway.

"Good morning," Luna said, gesturing for her to enter. "Would you like some pumpkin juice?"

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**Hokage Tower**

Harry and Luna found themselves in one of the less used rooms of the Hokage tower about an hour from Shizune turning up at their door. Team 7 had grudgingly gone to train once they found out that she was there to escort the witch and wizard. The Hokage herself was waiting in the room when they got there, deep in concentration over what looked like a medical book. She had the sword next to her though, still in its case and within reach. Harry and Luna knew that even if she looked distracted, she wasn't going to let someone just snatch up the precious item.

"I hope your first night in Konoha was comfortable," Tsunade said, looking up from the book as she closed it. "I understand that you've found housing in Naruto's apartment building?"

"Yes, it was very nice of him," Luna said. Tsunade nodded a smile ghosting over her lips.

"That's definitely one of the kid's qualities," she said. "Now, shall we begin?"

Tsunade watched carefully as Harry sat with the sword in front of him. She wasn't sure what he was going to do. He hadn't touched the sword in the last few seconds, and hadn't even leaned in to examine it. Instead, he was taking slow, deep breaths with his eyes closed. Tsunade leaned towards Luna, who was silently sitting next to her.

"Does he usually do this?" she asked. Luna nodded.

"He's just getting ready. This can take a lot out of him," Luna said.

"Does he use this… magic of yours?"

"It's more of a branch of it, actually. What Harry does isn't something I or any other wizard I know can do." Tsunade thought about that information for a moment. She was new to the concept of wizards – at least how Harry and Luna had described and demonstrated – but with the information fresh in her mind, she thought she understood.

"You mean his abilities that brought you here. I didn't realize that they were connected."

"They're like different rooms in the same house," Luna explained. "You could say that there's just the matter of having the right key to access it."

"And Harry has the key?"

"The only one," Luna chirped. Then, she frowned. "Well, there could be others. If you think about it, it's much like he doesn't have the original key but a copy and if there's one there can be more…"

Tsunade sweat dropped. She was beginning to lose track of where the conversation was going. "I think you're taking this key metaphor a bit far."

Luna's eyes widened. "Oh, sorry. I got a little carried away. Must have Fogwursts on my tongue."

"Fogwursts?" Tsunade asked, immediately regretting asking as the younger blonde perked up at the opportunity to explain a strange and fascinating creature. Luna was just getting into the details of mating rituals for the creatures – how that's what often caused a trip of the tongue in their hosts, which was easily fixed by rolling the ailing tongue into the shape of a three leaf clover and humming – when Tsunade noticed Harry had opened his eyes again.

From a medical perspective, Tsunade could see that his pupils were dilated and that his breaths were now shallow, barely lifting his chest. As a ninja and one of the Sannin, she saw the faint glow within those irises that wasn't normally present. And, Tsunade could _feel _something from him, but it wasn't chakra. Her brow raised as it washed over her body. The sensation was much like the prickly feeling you get when an unseen hand hovers at the point between your eyes, just above the bridge of your nose.

It was more than a bit surprising for the Fifth Hokage. None of the ANBU had reported being able to detect anything like this from the witch and wizard since they'd been put under surveillance. Most of their detection concerning the two had been based on their six senses, which some of the ANBU had been more than a little frustrated with though they hadn't dared complaining.

The issue didn't have anything to do with an inability to track the two. From what they'd seen so far, a genin with basic tracking techniques would be able to keep an eye on the two visitors – barring any surprises the two may still have up their sleeves. What really had them on edge about the two was that they hadn't been able to detect their so called magic. A Hyugga had been assigned to the surveillance, but they had reported that both Luna and Harry had average chakra coils which neither of them seemed to access more than any other civilian.

No one had been able to pick up on anything, however, when the two seemed to perform bizarre and impossible feats like materializing furniture and repairing floorboards – something of which bewildered ANBU had reported occurring last night. So, the questions that lingered in Tsunade's mind now as she continued to observe Harry and feel the sensation wash over her were whether or not this was how magic felt, and why she was only feeling it now.

"Luna-san," Tsunade said, drawing the attention of the younger blonde. Luna took one look at her expression and smiled.

"You're wondering about that strange feeling you're getting."

Tsunade nodded, not surprise at Luna's close guess. "Is that what your magic feels like or is this something else?"

"How does it feel?" Luna asked, and Tsunade promptly described the feeling as best she could to the younger woman.

"That's quite interesting," Luna answered. "But that's not how magic feels I'm afraid."

"Then what am I feeling, and why?" Tsunade asked.

"You can't really feel magic unless you have some of it yourself," Luna began to explain. "And the same goes for any other energy based ability, such as your chakra. What you're feeling is more like interference occurring. Harry is opening a part of himself up right now that's usually tucked away and it's letting that energy clash with others nearby it."

The Fifth Hokage's brow crinkled as she listened to the explanation. This information could be useful. For some, learning that you can't directly sense something that could be a potential threat might be discouraging. Tsunade wasn't a legend for nothing though, and not just for her skills as a medic-nin. If she could find some way to detect the so called interference when their magic was hidden away, it could help the shinobi gain some advantage in the future. She just hoped that there would never be a point where anyone in Konoha would have to need an advantage over the two travelers. Tsunade was personally hoping for an alliance rather than more enemies, though the old bats that called themselves advisors might not be so welcoming.

Harry suddenly flinched, drawing their attention quickly back to him. His face was pale, immediately inciting the medic-nin in Tsunade as she rose from her seat. Luna beat her to Harry's side though. She raised a hand to the back of Harry's neck, as she handed him what looked like a thick piece of chocolate. Luna brushed her fingers along the bare skin between Harry's collar and hairline while the dark haired wizard obediently began to nibble on the chocolate. The color began to return to his face.

"Are you all right, Harry-san?" Tsunade asked.

"In a manner of speaking," Harry answered, his voice sounding a little shaky. "I'm fully intact, at least."

Tsunade raised an eyebrow. "I take it you're 'studies' of these artifacts can sometimes be dangerous?"

"Yes."

"I would have appreciated it if you'd warned me before hand." Harry nodded, aware of the worry and authority laced into those words.

"My apologies. I didn't think there would be such a backlash this time," Harry said. Tsunade folded her arms, tapping her manicured fingers along her forearm as she leaned in to examin Harry. Even though he seemed to be recovering, the medic-nin in her was always a bit of a pessimist. You sometimes had to think the worst to catch the fatal injuries though.

Luna didn't seem too concerned with her colleague's current condition though. She had removed her hand from Harry's neck and had even popped a square of chocolate into her own mouth. The young witch was, at the moment, playing with a tuft of Harry's dark hair. Harry's cheeks, in turn, tinged pink but he didn't move away from the touch. Tsunade smirked. At least that put more color into his face.

"You seem to be recovering well," Tsunade finally said. "If there are any lingering side effects though, I would just like to request that you come to me personally or Shizune if I'm unavailable. We can help if it's a medical issue and if it's magic related…"

"You want to make sure there are as few eyes on the issue as possible in that case," Harry finished for her. Tsunade nodded.

"Don't worry, Tsunade-sama," Luna said. "I'll keep an eye on him."

Harry snorted. "And I find myself receiving attention for possible injury rather than my good looks once again." Luna flicked the side of Harry's head in response, drawing a chuckle from the Hokage and choice word from Harry at the sting of the new – though small – injury.

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A few hours later, Tsunade returned to the Hokage office to go through paperwork that she'd been hoping to avoid. She'd run out of excuses to keep her out from behind her desk though, so she resolved herself to a few hours of documents and signatures. As she worked through the piles on her desk, Tsunade's thoughts were still partially on her time with Harry and Luna earlier that day.

"_There is a lot of information imprinted into this sword. Memories, mostly, of its use and the battles it's been through. I'm going backwards through it though, so it's going to take me a while to reach what I'm really looking for."_

"_And what's that?" Tsunade asked._

"_The sword's exact origin and who gave it to your ancestor," Harry answered._

"_I thought you knew that."_

"_Possibly, but as I mentioned before things have gotten a bit complicated since the artifacts were… distributed."_

Tsunade sighed as she half-heartedly leafed through a folder. By distributed, he meant stolen and given away without permission. Not all the artifacts he encountered were like that, which was why Harry had been willing to trust her with the sword while he learned more about it. There was still the possibility that her own great uncle's prized weapon was, in fact, a pilfered item though and Tsunade didn't like the thought of that at all. It didn't make the Second Hokage the thief – Harry assured her of that at least – but it certainly sullied the glorious stories of his battles with that sword.

"Shizune!" Tsunade suddenly called as she shoved the piles in front of her away. The raven haired assistant arrived within seconds of her bellow, standing ready for any emergency or order.

"Is something wrong, Tsunade-sama?"

"Contact someone in records about digging up anything and everything that has to do with the Second Hokage. I don't care if it's the diary of a nursemaid or his personal log, I just need some results."

"Right away, Hokage-sama," Shizune replied, bowing hastily before leaving. Tsunade watched as the doors closed before she reached for the bottom drawer in her desk. If she was going to start digging into her own well honored and respected ancestor's past for dark secrets she'd need to get drunk first.

**1892, Mould-on-the-Wold, England**

"What's your name, young miss?"

"Ariana Dumbledore. Who are you?" she said.

"I have something for you, young Miss Dumbledore," the old man said. He pushed a weathered hand into a side pocket, and drew something small out. Ariana cocked her head.

"I don't know you," Ariana said to the old man.

The old man, who had yet to give a name and never would, nodded and chuckled. "Yes, not many do."

"What is it?" Ariana asked as she tried to peek at what was still hidden in the man's hand.

"Something special; A present," he answered.

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A/N: Thank you for the lovely reviews, by the way. Now, this is the part in the story where things start to get… confusing? Strange? Topsy-Turvy? I know people already have lots of questions. Why are Luna and Harry traveling to other dimensions, how can they do this and that? There's a lot of back story in my head right now, most of which you may only see in glimpses or hints throughout this story. The rest… it's possible that a prequel(s) of sorts may pop up once this story is finished. I won't think about that now though. Writing prequels before you've even finished is just a bad idea.

p.s. To those in the U.S., hope you had a great Thanksgiving and that no one experienced any deep frying accidents.


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: Sorry for the delay. Personal stuff, then I got sick. Constantly having the urge to sneeze – doesn't help the writing process. Nor does a stuffed up nose and a fuzzy mind. But, here it is, finally. In time for the holidays! Merry Christmas! If there's anything wanky about this chapter, blame it on the cold medicine!

Also, reviews have gotten into the triple digits for this story. Yay! To my 100th reviewer, Kiaranassimu, thanks for that milestone and I dedicate this chapter to you! And, thank you for all the wonderful reviews, everyone. They, of course, made it happen too!

Disclaimer: The characters of this fanfic do not belong to me. Anything considered canon in this story also does not belong to me. I make no profit from it, so please don't sue.

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**Chapter 7**

"True wisdom comes to each of us when we realize how little we understand about life, ourselves, and the world around us."

- Socrates

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"Good morning!" Naruto said as soon as the door of Luna and Harry's apartment was open. It was Luna who answered the door. He grinned as she let him in, inwardly pleased that he was able to visit alone that morning. No Sasuke, no Sakura hitting him. Sakura was pretty, but he didn't mind not having to worry about being punched if he said something wrong.

Luna offered him some pumpkin juice, which Naruto nervously but politely declined. He'd tried it yesterday, thinking it was orange juice, and would not be repeating that experience. He liked his vegetables barely visible in his food or not at all. That drink, in his opinion, was one of the worst ideas in the world.

"Morning, Naruto," Harry said from the kitchen where he was mixing something in a bowl. "Here for breakfast? We're making pancakes."

Naruto's stomach answered for him, before he could say anything, and the blonde boy laughed nervously while he rubbed his stomach. "Uh, if that's okay…"

There was no reason to worry about being kicked out though. Harry and Luna were more than welcoming and Naruto soon found himself with a stack of sweet smelling pancakes in front of him. Again, it wasn't a breakfast Naruto was used to having but he certainly wasn't complaining. He didn't typically eat a normal breakfast anyway, since most of his cupboards were stocked full of instant ramen. It was the first time off mission that he was getting a real home cooked meal, and Naruto was more than eager to enjoy it.

"This is great!" Naruto said making sure he swallowed before speaking even though Sakura wasn't there to lecture him about it.

"Thanks, Naruto… How was your training yesterday?" Harry asked.

Naruto pouted. "Boring," he said. Then he perked up as an idea struck him. "Hey, you guys can come watch if you want! That would make it more fun."

"Sounds wonderful," Luna answered. "Harry's supposed to be resting today anyway, so we'd love to join you."

"Resting?" Naruto asked. "Are you sick?" Naruto skimmed a critical eye over Harry, trying to see some sort of injury or illness. He wasn't good at that stuff, but there didn't seem to be anything wrong. Harry had a resigned expression on his face, which made Naruto's spirits suddenly drop. Maybe Harry didn't feel like spending more time with him, he thought.

"Ano, you don't have to if you aren't feeling well, Harry-san," Naruto mumbled. Harry's facial features softened as he looked at the young ninja, taken in his dejected visage.

"I'm feeling more than well enough to see you train, Naruto. I just don't exactly like being reminded that I'm still recovering from yesterday."

"Did something happen? Granny-Tsunade didn't punch you did she?" Naruto asked worriedly. "She does that a lot to me, but I'm pretty tough so it's not so bad."

Harry chuckled. "No, though I'll keep that warning in mind. I'm just a little worn out from my examination of the sword."

"Oh," Naruto said, growing confused. "What kind of examination can wear you out like that?"

"One where it's very important that I keep my concentration," Harry said. "If I lose focus, it can go very badly and there's still the risk of backlash if the item is at all unstable. I unfortunately failed to anticipate the instability of your Second Hokage's sword."

The young shinobi nodded, understanding. "Can I see next time?"

"Perhaps," Harry answered. "It really depends on what the Hokage says."

"She'll probably say no," Naruto said, looking crestfallen. Harry and Luna exchanged looks.

"How about we show you something a little more exciting than that?" Harry asked.

"Really? What?" Naruto immediately brightened.

"Fancy going for a broom ride?" Luna asked.

"Ehhhh?"

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"Did you hear about those two foreigners that arrived with Team 7?"

"I heard that they had the Second Hokage's sword with them."

"What? No way!"

"I heard that they can do some freaky things, and Tsunade-sama has every ANBU keeping an eye out for them."

"Yeah, and that kid is hanging out with them. Doesn't look good, if you ask me."

It was this conversation that interrupted Shikamaru's nap under a tree near Konoha's wall. Next to him sat Choji, working his way through a bag of chips which was the usual for him. Shikamaru cracked an eye open, following the movement of the group of Jonin who were gossiping as they walked along the path that would take them to the market.

"Troublesome," he muttered.

"Who are they talkin' about?" Choji asked through a mouth full of barbecue chips. His focus was on the Jonin as well.

"The man and woman who are staying in Naruto's apartment building," Shikamaru answered easily.

"How'd you figure that out?"

Shikamaru sighed and pushed himself up to lean over his knees. "People have been talking about them ever since they got here. I can't seem to get any peace and quiet because of it."

"What do you think they meant when they said they do freaky things?"

"No idea."

"Choji! Shikamaru!" The two boys turned their head as they heard their name being called. Coming from the opposite direction of the Jonin that had just passed by, Ino waved as she hurried towards them.

"Did you hear about that cute foreigner and the blonde girl that arrived a couple days ago?" She asked. Shikamaru's response was to roll his eyes while Choji rummaged for another bag of chips, uninterested in how cute the foreign guy might be. Ino growled in annoyance.

"Fine, then I won't tell you guys what they're doing right now with Naruto," she said.

That caught her teammates' attention.

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"Now, whatever you do, don't use your chakra while you're on the broom," Harry said.

"And try to stay calm," Luna added. "Sometimes they have a mind of their own."

"My chakra? Why not?" Naruto asked. He was examining what appeared to him to be two ordinary brooms, though there design didn't seem all that practical for cleaning. When they'd told him that they'd be flying, he hadn't expected this.

"Well, we're not quite sure how it will react with the broom," Harry answered.

"It's just wood, right? I climb trees and stuff with chakra all the time and they're just fine." Naruto scratched his head.

"Actually, there's more to this old broom than you'd think."

"Eh? What's that?"

"Magic," Luna said.

"Ehhhh?"

"To put it simply, this is an object infused with magical energy. Unlike creatures and beings that are magical, it can't produce any more or less magic than it has been given." Harry said. He handled his broom carefully in both hands as he continued. "Our guess is that if it were to interact too closely with your chakra it could possibly destroy the broom or worse."

"This magic, is it like chakra?" Naruto asked.

"A little," Luna answered. "But it's quite different in so many other ways."

"I… don't get it," Naruto said.

"How about we start," Harry said quickly. He swung his leg over the handle of the broom and shifted to leave some space behind him. Luna followed his lead and mounted her own.

"Naruto, you'll be riding with me," Harry said.

"Uh, okay…" Naruto nervously made his way towards the broomstick before climbing behind Harry. He was holding tight onto the older man's jacket before they even moved.

"Don't worry, Naruto-kun," Luna said. "Harry's a good flyer. He's only fallen once or twice, after all."

"Wha—ahhhhhhh!"

Harry took that moment to push off from the ground, lifting them higher and faster than Naruto was prepared for. He held on tighter, squeezing his eyes shut.

"Naruto," Harry wheezed. "You're holding on a little too tight."

"S-Sorry," Naruto said, loosening his grip. His eyes remained tightly shut.

"It's okay to open your eyes. And, just so you know, there were some extenuating circumstances to me falling that _one_ time. I may have jumped off my broom once or twice though, which doesn't count."

Naruto slowly opened his eyes enough to peak and then, seconds later, they were opened wide as he looked around. They were higher than the treetops, higher than he'd ever managed jumping. For a ninja with techniques that allowed them to fly, it probably wasn't a new or exciting sight. Naruto, however, was not one of those ninjas and seeing the expanse of his village – his home – beneath him was enough to stun the young boy.

"Wow."

"It's quite the view," Harry said, drawing Naruto's attention back to the man in front of him. The air was cooler higher up and a breeze upset the man's already disheveled, dark hair. It reminded the young blond ninja of how wild his hair was, mostly from years of managing it on his own.

At some point, Luna had caught up to them and steered her broom to hover beside theirs. She took a moment to catch Naruto's eye, and then smiled at him before leaning forward over the handle. The broom shot forward, causing the blond genin's jaw to drop. Had they been flying that fast before? He knew that ninjas could pump enough chakra into their legs to move that fast, but that was different.

"Neh, Harry-san, let's catch up!" Naruto said. He was far from worried now. In fact, his competitive side was kicking in. Lucky for him, Harry happened to be of a similar mind. The wizard smirked and then copied Luna's movement of a few seconds ago.

Then they were off.

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"Where are they? I don't see them?" Choji asked. He , Ino and Shikamaru had arrived at the training ground where rumors had said Naruto and the two foreigners were headed. Ino eagerly looked around, only to pout when she couldn't find them – particularly the cute one – anywhere.

"They said that they'd be here," she whined. "What could they possibly be doing?"

Shikamaru yawned, leaning back his head to look up at a passing cloud as he spoke. "They've probably left already."

"But they would have barely gotten here before us," Ino said. Then, something caught her eye on the ground by a tree. "Hmmm? What's this? I think this might be one of their bags."

"Maybe they forgot it?" Choji offered. He came over to examine it with Ino, leaving Shikamaru behind to lazily stare at the clouds. That left their dark haired teammate as the only one to notice something moving against the wind above them, and growing bigger by the second.

Shikamaru's gaze grew sharp as he followed it for a moment, then he called to his teammates. "Ino, Choji, take cover."

He was already melting into the shadows when Choji and Ino turned to him, confused. A second later though, they followed his lead as their sense of teamwork kicked in. If Shikamaru was telling them to hide, it was usually for a good reason. Only a moment after they'd hidden among the trees, they found out what that reason was.

"Yeah!" That excited shout filled the training ground, followed by laughter. All of Team Asuma immediately recognized it as the voice of the Academies' Dead Last.

"Naruto?" Ino said, peeking out from the branch she was currently standing on. Her jaw dropped as she caught sight of what exactly had Naruto excited. "Is that a broom?"

A broomstick with Naruto and the dark haired foreigner hovered a few feet off the ground in the center of the training ground. Only a few moments later, they were joined by the blonde haired woman on another broom. When they landed, Naruto jumped off and turned eagerly towards the man.

"Neh, Neh, can I learn to fly this thing?" Naruto asked.

"I don't think it will work for you, Naruto," the man said.

The excited expression on the young blond ninja's face was immediately erased. "Oh… why not?"

"It only responds to magical users and, as far as we're aware, we're the only ones for miles," the man explained.

"M-Magical users?" Ino said out loud before clamping her hand over her mouth.

Naruto, who had listened carefully to the dark haired man's explanation, was staring with wide eyes at him and the woman. It seemed that the news was new to him too.

"Y-You're not like one of those people who summons g-ghosts, are you?" Naruto asked nervously.

The man chuckled. "No ghost summoning, no."

"Are you afraid of ghosts, Naruto-kun?" The woman asked.

"N-No!" Naruto quickly denied.

"You shouldn't be. I have had some wonderful conversations with ghosts."

"You've… talked to ghosts?"

"Oh yes! They have the greatest stories," the woman said.

Ino's brow rose. "She must be completely crazy."

"What's that, Ino-pig?" Ino spun around only to find Sakura perched on the branch behind her.

"What are you doing here, Forehead?" Sakura glared, but didn't retaliate with another insult.

"Probably the same reason as you," she answered. "I heard that Naruto was coming here with Harry and Luna."

"Is Harry the name of the cute one," Ino asked. Sakura rolled her eyes, crossing her arms in front of her. She opened her mouth to answer, but paused.

Ino smirked, thinking that it was the perfect opportunity to tease her pink haired friend. "What's wro—ahhhh!"

Both kunoichi gave surprised yelps as they were plucked out of the tree by an invisible force. They were moving fast and by the time either of them thought of a technique, they found themselves landing on the ground. The landing wasn't rough however. In fact, it was quite… cushy.

"Eh? Where'd the pillows come from?" They heard Naruto ask, only a few feet away from them now.

"That's the first thing you ask?" Sakura said sounding a little winded.

"I think a better question is what happened? It wasn't chakra strings." Shikamaru voiced as he quickly came out of his hiding spot. Ino turned a bewildered look towards him.

"It didn't happen to you?" Then, she looked around to see that Choji was just joining them as well. "Why was it only me and Sakura?"

"Probably because you're too loud," Shikamaru said, sighing. He was raking a wary gaze over the foreigners, eyes dark with calculating thoughts.

"Oh, there's more than I thought," Luna said. "I guess my ears haven't popped yet." She pinched her nose and scrunched up her eyes while all the young shinobi watched her, confused.

"Nice to see you, Sakura," Harry said, nodding as said girl rose from the large, magenta pillow she'd been sprawled on. The wizard gestured to Team Asuma. "Do you know these three, Naruto?"

"Yup. Shikamaru, Choji and Ino. Guys, this is Harry and Luna." Naruto pointed to everyone as he named them. Luna, who had finished trying to pop her ears, smiled at them all and waved while Harry simply nodded.

"Would you like to join us for lunch?" Luna quickly asked and that was how, moments later, the young Konoha shinobi found themselves sitting off in a corner of the training ground on more cushions like the ones that Ino and Sakura had landed on earlier.

"This… technique that you used, how does it work?" Shikamaru asked as he took one of the sandwiches offered to him. Next to him, Choji was helping himself to a second sandwich already and had two more waiting in front of him. The genius shinobi had already figured that their lunch had arrived in a similar manner as the cushions, since it was unlikely that Harry and Luna had that many sandwiches with them to begin with, even if there was something suspicious about that bag of theirs. It must be similar to a storage scroll, though Shikamaru could have sworn the woman had actually gone shoulder deep into its twelve inch depth.

"You mean the cushions?" Harry asked. Shikamaru nodded. "I'm not sure how to fully explain it since we're still learning about your own abilities. You use hand seals to activate techniques, correct?"

"Among other things, but, yes."

"I suppose you could say that magic is activated by words rather than movement then, though there are a few spells, or techniques, that require specific movements in order for them to properly work." Harry explained.

"You certainly don't want to get your swish and flicks mixed up with your swish and swish," Luna added.

"Why's that?"

"It's the difference between performing a simple charm and potentially blowing yourself up," Harry said. The young shinobi reacted with wide eyes. Magic was starting to sound more dangerous than chakra.

Naruto cocked his head, realizing something. "I don't remember you saying anything earlier. I thought you said words were part of it."

"More advanced wizards learn to silently cast most spells," Harry said. "It's more efficient, especially when you're up against an opponent."

Naruto nodded to show that he understood, looking eager before he said, "So you've fought a lot?"

"We've been in our good share of fights, yes," Harry said, exchanging a look with Luna. A sad smile graced the lips of both of them as well, as if they were remembering victories, and yet, the price that came with them as well. Naruto seemed to realize suddenly that he probably shouldn't have asked such a question.

"Sorry, Harry-san, Luna-san," he said.

Harry shook his head. "It's all right. We've experienced many losses in the past, I'm afraid. It's never easy to forget."

"Was there a war in your homeland?" Sakura asked. Both Harry and Luna nodded.

"It was a war among our own kind," Luna explained, immediately reminding the young genin of the wars of their own homeland. "Greed for power, control and immortality drove our world into dark times."

"Immortality…" Shikamaru said, his brow furrowing as he did.

"There was one wizard who wished to live forever. The price of something like that though… He became something less than human because of it."

"Hmm?" Choji voiced. "Why would you want to live forever?"

"Most would say that it was because he wanted to be the most powerful wizard in the world," Harry said.

"But you don't think so," Shikamaru stated more than asked. Harry turned his attention to him.

"Power was only part of it. I would say, though, that he was simply desperate not to die."

Ino pulled a face, managing to look confused and exasperated at the same time. "Well, don't normal people usually want to live?"

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"You act like you have a death wish, Sasuke." Kakashi leaned against a tree as he watched his young student from a distance. The dark haired genin, who had just finished a heavy training session, was covered in scrapes and his clothes were torn.

"Haven't seen you for a while, Kakashi-sensei," Sasuke said stiffly. He moved over towards his teacher and sat under the tree as he reached into his pack.

"Where are Sakura and Naruto?" Kakashi asked, immediately causing his young students shoulders to tense. He hadn't really expected that reaction. Curious.

"Probably with those foreigners," Sasuke answered. Kakashi sighed. He'd heard several rumors about them lately, though he hadn't seen them yet. Most of the whisperings weren't very pleasant ones, however. After the attack on Konoha and the death of the Third Hokage, people were reasonably on edge. To public, Tsunade-sama wasn't cautious enough about their arrival in the village.

"Oh?" Kakashi finally said, sounding more carefree than he actually felt. "And you're not curious about them?"

"Tch, not like that idiot, anyway," Sasuke said as he packed up his things and stood up. "He trusts too much."

Kakashi frowned. "Have you noticed anything about them? Anything we should be worried about?"

Sasuke shook his head, his brow furrowing. "They're just… very odd. And there's power there; a lot of power." A fire seemed to ignite in his dark eyes as he said this. The glow of it unsettled Kakashi a little. He pushed off from the tree to stand straight, no longer feeling like adopting a relaxed pose was appropriate at that moment.

"Sasuke—"

"They seem as mindless as Naruto sometimes. It makes sense that they'd get along," Sasuke suddenly said. His eyes were out of focus. It was clear that his mind was somewhere else at the moment. "What's so special about that…?"

Kakashi wasn't sure the last question had much to do with anything Sasuke had said out loud, what with the troubled look on the young genin's face. He let Sasuke mull over his thoughts for a moment longer before pulling his attention back to the present.

"Go get cleaned up and meet me at Naruto's apartment building in an hour," Kakashi said.

"Why?" Sasuke asked, immediately attentive.

"I have something to do," was Kakashi's vague answer. When Sasuke realized that was the only answer he was going to manage, he dutifully hurried to his apartment to change. The silver haired ninja soon disappeared from the training grounds as well.

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A/N: Tada! Finished. For now. Tune in… whenever I have the next chapter up. And please review! Reviews feed the hamsters that turn the wheels in my brain. More reviews = more well-fed hamsters = properly working brain = chapter update!


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: So, this chapter update took longer than even I expected. Life happened. Procrastination happened. Writer's block happened, which is kind of the same thing as procrastination. The things I had to go through to finish this chapter... arrgh. Anyway, here it is along with a scene or two that I've sort of been dangling in front of you like an unopened box of cookies.

**Chapter 8**

"Apparently there is nothing that cannot happen today." – Mark Twain

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**The day of the official reading of Albus Dumbledore's Will**

"Mr. Potter," a voice called from down the wide and carpeted hallway. Though Harry couldn't recall the voice, he was all too familiar with having his name called in public by complete strangers. He'd personally prefer having another go with the killing curse than shake another hand and be stared at, but he was told that sane people didn't do that sort of thing. And, that if he just smiled and nodded things would eventually die down or someday another boy/girl-who-did-something-supposedly-impossible would come along for people to gawk at. Harry wasn't really in the mood to fake a smile though. He could feel his headache growing, starting right at the point between his eyes. He sighed, gathering his strength as he stalled the inevitable by pretending to clean his glasses. Harry massaged the bridge of his nose before replacing his eye-wear and then he turned around.

"Yes?" he said to a man much older than himself, perhaps older than Dumbledore was. He was much shorter than the late Headmaster though, with wide shoulders and a bulbous nose set between a pair of world-weary eyes. That was the only thing really similar. Harry halted his thoughts as he realized he was comparing everything about this stranger to Albus Dumbledore. It wasn't entirely strange since he'd just left the will reading for his old headmaster - the official one, without Minister of Magic interference - but he was in that hallway, a few random left turns and right turns away from the room it had taken place in, to try and clear his head. Harry resisted shaking his head to clear his thoughts. When he did that, people tended to worry about him a little too much.

The old man then surprised him by saying, "Difficulty clearing your head these days?"  
"Er, yes," Harry replied. In fact, he'd had a headache for the past week and the highest doses of muggle medicine and potions hadn't been able to calm it down to more than a light pulsing behind his eyes. He wasn't sure, but it felt like the man was prodding for a deeper answer to a question he had yet to ask. What that was, however, Harry had no idea.

"Well, it should pass," the man said a little more matter-of-fact tone than Harry was comfortable with. The barely of age wizard discretely readied his wand.

"Is there something you wanted?" Harry asked. "I'm afraid I should be getting back."

"To the will reading?" The man's bushy eyebrows rose. "I was quite upset to hear of the passing of Mr. Dumbledore."

"Professor Dumbledore," Harry automatically corrected. The man's eyebrows rose higher.

"Oh, yes... Forgive this forgetful mind of mine. It's just - it's a shame to hear of another death in the Dumbledore family."

"Do you know the Dumbledore family well?" What Harry really meant was, "are you a friend or just one of those people who read Skeeter's book?" The man shook his head, which Harry thought confirmed that he was just another Skeeter follower.

"I'm afraid the only one I personally met was the young Miss Ariana. She had quite the... potential to do great things." His words struck a chord in Harry. It reminded him of his first time in Ollivander's wand shop. Great things. Terrible things. The old man seemed to notice the shift of Harry's thoughts in his eyes.

"Perhaps that was a bad choice of words," the man said.

"Perhaps," Harry replied. "If you'll excuse me..." He moved to head back down the hallway. It was likely that he'd forgotten when exactly those left turns and right turns were, but Harry was willing to risk getting further lost so long as he could find some solitude again.

"Mr. Potter," the man called again. Harry paused, but only turned his head to look at the man. Turning around would probably keep him there longer than he wanted to be. The man's expression looked very grave. "When that headache of yours clears up tomorrow, please contact me."

Harry took the offered card without saying a word. He watched as the old man shuffled down the hallway in the opposite direction until his short figure turned the corner. Harry then looked at the card. It had a phone number on it, the first unusual thing about it since most wizards didn't use phones. And then he looked at the rest of the text.

**Arthur Woodham**

_**Worker of all things mystical and mysterious**_

"Huh?" Harry said. He turned the card over, found the other side blank, and then flipped it back to the text. Harry hurried down the hall to try and catch up with him, but found the next hallway empty and the only doors along it were all locked. It was a dead end too.

The next day, Harry woke up with a clear mind and, for the first time in a week, his headache was completely gone. He called Mr. Woodham's number.

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**Konoha (Present Time)**

It was easy to slip open one of the windows and slip inside the apartment. Too easy, Kakashi thought. He was used to seals and genjutsu - at least a latch in place. There was one but it was left in the open position. Kakashi was beginning to wonder whether this was going to be his easiest mission, or possibly his worst. Underneath the underneath, he told his team. Well, he couldn't really see under the surface of this place, which had him on edge.

The room he entered turned out to be the foreign woman's bedroom. There was a general air of femininity about it and, plus, he was fairly certain the man, Harry, didn't wear skirts. Seemingly random charms and baubles hung from the ceiling, and the bed... he wasn't sure what to say about the colors of the bedspread.

Kakashi turned towards the corner of the room when he thought he saw movement out of the corner of his eye. There sat a desk with a few more random and strange objects on it, along with a mouse sized replica of an eagle perched on a branch. The bird blinked and cocked its head at the silver haired shinobi.

Kakashi blinked back. "Hmmm..." He was drawn into a short staring contest, as he contemplated the possibility that the eagle might be the security. It didn't start screeching, or disappear somewhere to warn its master. If it turned out that it was though, it was already too late to hide from the thing. Kakashi internally sighed. This was the problem with trying to sneak around foreign grounds. You were never quite sure if you'd just taken the wrong step.

Tsunade-sama had at least informed him of what to look for if their... magic was to in any way react with his chakra. From what she'd described though, it would take a significant amount of magical output for that to happen. Perhaps it was different when magic was placed on an object or a person. Knowing something has already been done isn't quite as helpful as being able to anticipate the next move, but it had its benefits. The question was how was he going to do that?

After considering a few things Kakashi slowly approached the eagle, the only obviously magical object in the room (despite the oddity of everything else). He uncovered his sharingan. Nothing out of the ordinary. Then, he infused his hand with chakra and brought it close to the eagle. He thought he felt something similar to what Tsunade-sama described, though the sensation didn't spread farther than the elbow of his outstretched arm.

He inched his hand a little closer. The eagle didn't seem to mind - perhaps it wasn't sentient after all - and so he moved just a little bit closer. There was definitely some kind of reaction. Interesting. Kakashi was about to draw back his hand, continue on in his personal investigation of the foreigners' living space, when the eagle spread its wings - no wider than the wingspan of a sparrow - and one of the tips brushed against his hand. The prickling sensation increased ten-fold, spreading quickly through the silver haired man's body.

Kakashi's eyes widened. "Oh no."

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"Did you hear something?" Sakura asked as they were making their way towards the stairs of Naruto's - and now Harry and Luna's - apartment building. They had parted ways with team Asuma and Harry and Luna had invited the two shinobi back to their apartment to show them a few things they'd collected on their travels. Naruto cocked his head and listened intently. The witch and wizard paused like their two younger companions and within seconds turned to each other to exchange a look.

"Merlin... so that's what happens?" Harry muttered.

"Eh? Harry-san? What happens? Did something happen?" Naruto asked the wizard.

"We had a visitor," he answered.

"Had?" Sakura said. She and Naruto followed the two up the stairs and in less than a minute they were to the apartment door.

Nothing seemed amiss when they entered until all eyes were drawn to Luna's bedroom door. Tendrils of smoke curled up from the bottom of it. Naruto dashed to the door, swinging it open only to breathe in smoke that smelled like burnt wood, fabric and plastic. He coughed, clearing the air with a quick wave of his one arm while the other covered his face.

The room, for the most part, was untouched. The corner by the window, however, was black. The window itself was shattered, and there was a half crumbled desk and chair. Nothing else in that area was recognizable, though there was something dark and shiny melting down the one leg of the desk that was still mostly intact.

"What happened in here?" Naruto asked. Both he and Sakura were wide eyed as they examined the damage. They turned when they heard a sigh from Luna.

"And I just finished decorating," she said. They let her pass and the blond witch took a closer look at the oozing object in her bedroom. "I think it was my eagle figurine that did it."

"Did what?" Both young shinobi asked.

"There was a chakra user in here while we were gone," Harry said. "Seems he touched something he shouldn't have. Remember what I told you about the brooms, Naruto?"

"About the magic stuff?" Naruto asked. Harry nodded.

"Seems that, to some degree, magic and chakra don't mix well after all." He gestured to the mess in front of them. Though Sakura wasn't present for the conversation mentioned, she seemed to understand well enough. She gaped, along with Naruto, now at the damage done.

"S-So, what happened to the person who was in here?" Naruto asked causing Sakura to pale both at the thought that it might be someone they knew and that they were in a similar shape as the desk and chair.

"Oh, they made it out," Luna answered, turning away from her charred desk. "So there's really nothing to worry about... Except maybe how I'm going to redecorate, of course." She looked oddly thrilled at the idea now.

While Naruto and Sakura were left wondering who it was that had caused the scene in Luna's bedroom, they were hurried back into the living room to sit on the couch. The two had teacups in hand before they realized it. To Naruto's delight they happened to be the ones that changed colored as well. When Sakura's turned a hazy brown, Harry decided that it was about time to reassure the two.

"We've set up some security around this place since we got here," he said, drawing Sakura from her thoughts. Naruto was too busy taking sips of his tea and trying to change the color of his cup. "Nothing extensive, but it's enough for me to tell you that I know for certain that whomever was in that room wasn't seriously harmed."

"Harry-san, you don't seem upset that someone was in here."

"I think I would have to be surprised first before I could be upset. This isn't the first time we've been on foreign land, and we're already aware that your village has been keeping a close eye on us."

"Oh..." Sakura replied. She wasn't sure what else she could say. Sorry? If the ninja had been in their apartment under orders from the Hokage, then it shouldn't be her place to apologize. There was still the possibility that it wasn't even one of their shinobi. Sakura thought briefly of asking Harry if he knew, but decided against it.

Instead, she asked for more tea, ignoring the fact that her cup was now a brownish black.

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Kakashi-sensei was on time. It was the first indication that something was off. Sasuke's gaze was immediately drawn to the second unusual thing.

"What happened to your hand?" Sasuke asked.

The silver haired ninja didn't look up from his book as he casually slipped the hand in question into his pocket before saying, "Nothing serious. The foreigners, Naruto and Sakura arrived ten minutes ago."

"You wanted to meet them?" Sasuke said a little skeptic that was his teacher's only reason. Getting the silver-haired shinobi to tell you all of his plans, though, was about as easy as bringing the dead back.

Kakashi shut his book. "I might as well." He pushed off from the side of the building and made for the closest entrance. Sasuke followed.

_What are you up to, Kakashi-sensei?_

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"Kakashi-sensei... what are you doing here?" Sakura asked, surprised to see her teacher at the door. His shoulders were casually slumped and he had his right hand stuffed into his pants pocket. And, though he was obviously smiling - well, not so obviously considering you could only see his eye - Sakura got the odd impression that he was annoyed. She mentally shook her head. Since when did Kakashi-sensei really get annoyed?

"Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto asked. He had been engrossed in examining the cards with moving pictures Harry and Luna had pulled out to show them up until hearing their teacher's name. Sasuke, who had been standing out of sight, chose that moment to cut in front of the silver haired ninja into the apartment without any greeting. Sakura blinked, but didn't say anything. She motioned for Kakashi to enter.

Harry and Luna looked up as first Sasuke, then Sakura and finally Kakashi came into sight again. "Oh, Sasuke, it's good to see you and..." Harry's gaze landed on Kakashi.

"This is Kakashi-sensei," Sakura quickly said. "He's our team leader and he trains us."

"I see," Harry said. The wizard's expression grew still before he suddenly smiled and nodded. "It's nice to meet you." Kakashi nodded back. Luna stood up and offered her hand to the silver haired ninja.

"Pleasure to meet you."

Kakashi stared at the hand for a moment before extending his own hand, which happened to be the one that he'd kept in his pocket. Sakura immediately raised an eyebrow at the bandage that was covering it. Luna, surprisingly, gently took the injured hand into her own and rotated the hand so that it was palm down. Kakashi grew tense, but didn't try to draw his hand back.

"You should consider re-bandaging this," she said.

Kakashi's response was a forced calm. "Oh? Why's that?"

"It's wrapped clockwise. Very bad luck for wounds. Counter-clockwise is much better," Luna said as she released his hand. She dug into the pocket of her skirt and then drew out a metal tin. Offering it to the silver haired ninja, she said, "It's my own special salve. Helps with healing."

"Ah... Thanks," Kakashi said, hesitantly taking the tin. He fell silent and as the seconds of silence increased, the awkwardness became hard to bear.

"Ano... Kakashi-sensei," Sakura said, desperately trying to break up the atmosphere. "I'll help you re-bandage, come sit over here. Would you like some tea? Harry-san, do you have any tea cups that don't change color? Not that I don't like them, uh, what I mean is..." Sakura's attempt to make things better, to put it simply, was going very badly.

Harry stopped her before she could start do anything worse, like offer Kakashi-sensei some pumpkin juice. "I think we have a few normal ones, yes. I'll go get them. Luna, how about you show our guests a few souvenirs from our travels while I go get them?"

As he moved into the kitchen, Luna sat back down on the couch. She looked thoughtful before a smile grew on her lips. They all watched, curious, as she took off one of her earrings. What looked like a small radish dangled from its hook.

"This is something we picked up a few years back."

"It's, er, very nice and... unique," Sakura said.

"I think it's kind of weird," Naruto said, earning a thump to his head. While he nursed the fresh wound, Luna laughed. Her laughter made Sakura think of multi-colored bubbles, oddly enough.

"I get that a lot," Luna said. "But the interesting thing about this is what you can't see. Would you hold this for a minute, Sakura?" Sakura nervously stuck out her hand, allowing Luna to drop the earring into her palm. She frowned when she couldn't see anything special about it.

"Uh... is it supposed to do something," Sakura asked. She suddenly heard the clink of a teacup dropping. The pink haired ninja turned to look at her blond teammate curiously. She was going to ask him what was wrong, but then he spoke. She knew exactly what was wrong after that.

"Ehhh? Why can't I understand Naruto? And... and why isn't my mouth moving right?"

"Because you're speaking English," Luna answered. All eyes went to her. Sakura felt relieved for a moment when she could understand her. That relief was short lived.

"Wait... I don't know English!" At that moment, Harry returned from the kitchen with the teacups. Everyone was momentarily drawn away from Sakura's crisis as he calmly set them down in front of Sasuke and Kakashi as if he hadn't walked in on Sakura's nervous squeaks.

Sakura apprehensively watched as first Naruto spoke and then Harry answered, all of which she understood none of. Then, Harry spoke again and this time it was very clear. "You can hand the earring back to Luna," he said in English. Sakura was more than willing to do just that.

"Did the earring do that?" Sakura asked. The end of her question trailed off as she realized her mouth was working the words in the way she was familiar with once again.

"She's back to normal," Naruto said. This earned him an eye-roll from Sasuke. Kakashi seemed very interested in the earring now, though.

"That earring is some type of translator?" Kakashi asked. Luna nodded as she placed it back on her ear.

"It works a little differently than your typical translator, but yes."

"Meaning?" Kakashi asked.

"It causes the one that is in possession of it to speak the language of whoever in their presence they consider to be foreign. It obviously has its limits. If you were among a group of foreigners, for example, who all spoke a different language it would only be able to focus in on one."

"So, you don't actually know Japanese? I thought that since you had an accent..." Sakura trailed off.

"The person who invented it said that he didn't want his device to be used for deception. Anyone trying to blend into another society in order to hide or spy wouldn't be able to use its translating abilities to their advantage because there would always be an accent." Harry said.

"We're not trying to hide the fact that we're foreign, so we find them very convenient," Luna added, tapping the radish earring and making it swing on her ear.

"And they look like radishes?" Sasuke asked. His brow furrowed as he watched the movement of the strange jewelry piece. It was clear that he didn't like the fact that something so useful looked so strange.

"That's just what Luna's looks like," Harry said. "Mine looks quite different."

"And where's yours?" Sasuke asked.

Harry smiled. "Safely tucked away," he answered. Sasuke's expression was blank, but it was obvious to the trained eye that he was annoyed.

"Where exactly did you come across such a device?" Kakashi asked, pacifying the brewing situation. "I'm not familiar with anything like it."

"Somewhere very far away," Luna answered. "Very nice people, but we haven't been able to visit again… Would you like to see some pictures?"

The conversation soon dissolved as Luna and Harry produced a few albums – did they really travel with so much stuff, the ninjas wondered – for the group to look through. Kakashi, being the type that knew quite well when asking another question about the translator would seem more like an interrogation, decided to silently enjoy the pictures with his students. If he thought that the few images that moved, the figures in them occasionally waving out at them, he didn't say anything. Sasuke, for his part, silently looked through the albums as well though he kept glancing at Harry as if he were looking for something out of the ordinary, which he probably was. Sakura sighed. She could feel a team meeting in the near future. And, it turns out that she was right. When she got home that evening, she found a note pinned to her door.

_Team 7 Meeting. Noon. Bridge._

A/N: There you go. The translating device and its history are not from any fictional or non-fictional world that I'm aware of, just in case you were wondering. There are similar devices/artifacts/things in other original stories, but I wound up creating something else. Perhaps I'll write a side story where they visited that particular world? Anyway, I always had something like that in mind when it came to explaining why there wasn't a language barrier. I've come across HP fanfics that use translation spells, but I decided to go in a different direction. Anyway. Review. Please. My creative hamsters are hungry! I hope you enjoyed the chapter!


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